00Z model run on time, 18 balloon reports flagged
Model status
NWS is producing the 00Z model run on schedule. Forecast model output should reach forecasters, apps and websites at the usual times.
“00Z” is the run’s start time in UTC. NWS runs its main models four times a day — 00Z, 06Z, 12Z and 18Z — and each run begins by digesting a global snapshot of current conditions taken at that hour.
124 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (9 in Alaska, 23 in Canada, 60 in Lower 48, 14 in Mexico, 8 in Caribbean, 10 in Pacific). “Stations available for ingest” means balloon soundings that arrived in time to be folded into the model’s starting picture of the atmosphere. Twice a day, sites across North America release balloons that measure temperature, humidity, pressure and wind all the way up. More stations reporting means a better-anchored starting point.
Balloon reports 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP...
Twice a day, NWS and partner agencies release weather balloons that carry a radiosonde — a small instrument package that radios back temperature, humidity, pressure and wind as it climbs. Those soundings are one of the main ingredients in a forecast model’s starting conditions. This section is the roll call of stations that had a problem for the 00Z run of the GFS.
18 stations were flagged: 7 sent no usable sounding at all, 7 reported a numeric status code, 4 had bad data removed by quality control. A handful of gaps is normal and is not by itself a sign of a forecast problem — the models are built to work with an incomplete picture.
| Station | Where | What happened | As printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| SYA 70414 | Shemya AFB, AK | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for NAM, in for GFS |
| JAX 72206 | Jacksonville/Intl, FL | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| CRP 72251 | Corpus Christi/Intl, TX | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| VEF 72388 | Las Vegas, NV | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| GRB 72645 | Green Bay/A.-Straubel, WI | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| UNR 72662 | Rapid City/Regional Airport, S, SD | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for NAM, in for GFS |
| OTX 72786 | Spokane, WA | No weather balloon data from this station reached the model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| OTZ 70133 | Kotzebue, Ralph Wien, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| BET 70219 | Bethel/Bethel Airport, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| SNP 70308 | St. Paul Islands, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| AKN 70326 | King Salmon, AK | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| ADQ 70350 | Kodiak, AK | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142 |
| FFC 72215 | Peachtree City, GA | The station reported status code 10145. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10145 | 10145 |
| TWC 72274 | Tucson, AZ | The station reported status code 10159. NWS does not publish a public legend for these codes, so we will not guess at what it means — it signals some problem with the launch or the data. unrecognised status code 10159 | 10159 |
| AMA 72363 | Amarillo/INTL, TX | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 501 to 483 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 501 to 483 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate |
| FGZ 72376 | Flagstaff, AZ | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 572 to 560 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 572 to 560 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate |
| MID 76644 | Aeropuerto Intl Merida, Mexico · Mexico | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: spurious wind at surface. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged spurious wind at surface |
| KWA 91366 | Kwajalein/Bucholz Aaf, Marshal · Marshall Islands | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: wind at 1005 mb. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged wind at 1005 mb |
Show the original message
Exactly as NWS transmitted it. Everything above is our plain-English reading of this text — if the two ever disagree, this is the authoritative version.
000 NOUS42 KWNO 200312 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0311Z SUN SEP 20 2026 The 00Z NWS model production continues to run on time with 9 Alaskan, 23 Canadian, 60 CONUS, 14 Mexican, 8 Caribbean and 10 Pacific stations available for ingest. 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP... 70414/SYA - No report for NAM, in for GFS 72206/JAX - No report 72251/CRP - No report 72388/VEF - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72662/UNR - No report for NAM, in for GFS 72786/OTX - No report 70133/OTZ - 10159 70219/BET - 10159 70308/SNP - 10159 70326/AKN - 10159 70350/ADQ - 10142 72215/FFC - 10145 72274/TWC - 10159 72363/AMA - Purged temp, moist 501 to 483 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate 72376/FGZ - Purged temp, moist 572 to 560 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate 76644/MID - Purged spurious wind at surface 91366/KWA - Purged wind at 1005 mb Renkevens/SDM/NCO