Synchronized weather balloon launches have helped meteorologists create forecasts over the past 150 years, and now the old tradition is going high tech. Twice a day - every day of the year - meteorologists around the world launch weather balloons at the same time from roughly 900 locations around the globe. Those balloons often reach heights of 20 miles above Earth -- or twice as high as planes typically fly. Sensors beam data back down to Earth every few seconds as winds carry the balloons up t