WATCH: NWS launches weather balloon during high winds

Staff of the U.S. National Weather Service released a weather balloon last week during a high wind event in Nevada. 

The NWS in Reno posted video of the release on its Facebook page, saying the Observation Program Leader (OPL) battled 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts during the release. 

The man can be seen struggling to let the balloon go without damaging it. 

The post says the data gathered by the balloon's radiosonde will feed weather prediction models for events like a blizzard hitting the Midwest section of the country.