Weather data collected from the atmosphere (beginning at three meters above the Earth's surface) are considered weather balloon or upper air data. These data are obtained from radiosondes, which are instrument packages tethered to balloons that are launched from the ground, ascend through the troposphere into the stratosphere, and transmit back to a receiving station on the ground.

These observations include vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, and geopotential height.