An Ominous Hurricane Season Will Test New AI Weather Forecasting
Startups are using sophisticated balloons and improved analytics techniques to model weather with promising results.
WindBorne Systems’ co-founder & CTO Andrey Sushko releases an atmospheric sensing balloon in Bodega Bay, California.
Source: WindBorne Systems
With the pull of a cord, a balloon laden with sensors careens into the cloudless sky above a parking lot in Palo Alto, California. Below, three of the co-founders of WindBorne Systems Inc., an artificial intelligence weather-forecasting startup, crane their necks to watch what looks like a jiggling jellyfish begin a multiday journey across the US and potentially beyond.
The sensors on the balloon will monitor wind speed, temperature and atmospheric pressure as it travels through the atmosphere for as many as 12 days. It’s part of WindBorne’s multipronged strategy to make better weather predictions by collecting data, which it sells primarily to energy traders looking to get ahead of potential strain on the grid. Since 2021 the startup has also been working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is testing whether the balloon data can improve its forecasting abilities.