a hydrogen balloon carrying meteorological instruments and a radar target, enabling the velocity of winds in the atmosphere to be measured
Word origin
C20: blend of radar + wind + radiosonde
rawinsonde in American English
(ˈreɪwɪnˌsɑnd)
US
noun
a method of observing the upper-air conditions, including wind direction and speed, temperature, pressure,and relative humidity, using signals from a radiosonde that is being tracked with radar or a radio-direction finder