The Box

The Albuquerque Box is a weather phenomenon where the lowest winds are moving in one direction and the higher level winds are moving in another. More specifically, in a perfect example of the Albuquerque Box, the high winds are from the south while the low winds are from the north. This is beneficial to ballooning because then the balloon can take off and land in almost exactly the same spot. Balloon pilots do not have a way to steer their hot air balloons. While they can control where the balloon flies vertically (by heating the air in the balloon to go higher), they rely on the wind to determine their direction. The Albuquerque Box allows pilots to better control where they fly and where they land. Since the winds are blowing from the north in the lower levels, pilots rise just a little and fly towards the south. Then they can ascend higher by lighting the burner and warming the air inside the balloon envelope, catch the winds from the south and fly back to where they took off, to land. When the Albuquerque Box is working, tourists can then stay in one spot and watch the balloon launch, drift away, then drift back and land all from the same location.

To see the entire article about the Box>>>> The Albuquerque Box