It is a real challenge for a meteorological team to estimate the altitude where a wind might be found blowing hard in the direction a balloon wishes to travel.
Speed is as essential as direction.
Their fuel is limited. It's an equal challenge for the balloon pilot to maintain, raise or lower altitude by dumping ballast or empty fuel tanks, firing the burners, and overcoming rising or falling inertia. He will be assisted by an on-board computer. It's the only way he can keep going in the right direction. The wind pushes the balloon where it will.