00Z model run on time, 14 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.
130 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (10 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 63 in Lower 48, 14 in Mexico, 8 in Caribbean, 9 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.
14 stations were flagged: 6 sent no usable sounding at all, 5 reported a numeric status code, 2 had a balloon burst early, 1 was missing part of the transmission. 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 |
| 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 |
| GGW 72768 | Glasgow/Intl, MT | 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 |
| 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 |
| GCM 78384 | Owen Roberts Airport Grand Cay · Cayman Islands | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142 |
| CUN 76595 | Cancun · Mexico | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 630 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 3.8 km (12,500 ft). (630 mb ≈ 3.8 km (12,500 ft)) | Short to 630 mb |
| GDL 76612 | Guadalajara, Mexico · Mexico | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 577 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 4.5 km (15,000 ft). (577 mb ≈ 4.5 km (15,000 ft)) | Short to 577 mb |
| CRP 72251 | Corpus Christi/Intl, TX | The station reported, but part of the sounding transmission was missing — specifically TTBB, the "significant levels" section that carries the extra detail between the standard pressure levels. The GFS run still got a usable report from this station. | Missing TTBB for NAM, in for GFS |
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 180316 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0315Z FRI SEP 18 2026 The 00Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time with 10 Alaskan, 26 Canadian, 63 CONUS, 14 Mexican, 8 Caribbean and 9 Pacific stations available for ingest. 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP... 70414/SYA - No report for NAM, in for GFS 72206/JAX - No report 72388/VEF - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72768/GGW - No report for NAM, in for GFS 72786/OTX - No report 70133/OTZ - 10159 70219/BET - 10159 70308/SNP - 10159 72274/TWC - 10159 78384/GCM - 10142 76595/CUN - Short to 630 mb 76612/GDL - Short to 577 mb 72251/CRP - Missing TTBB for NAM, in for GFS Renkevens/SDM/NCO