00Z model run on time, 20 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.
119 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (9 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 58 in Lower 48, 11 in Mexico, 6 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.
20 stations were flagged: 7 sent no usable sounding at all, 9 reported a numeric status code, 1 was missing part of the transmission, 3 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 |
| EPZ 72364 | Santa Teresa, 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 |
| TOP 72456 | Topeka/Municipal, KS | 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 |
| 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 | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| BET 70219 | Bethel/Bethel Airport, AK | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| SNP 70308 | St. Paul Islands, AK | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| CDB 70316 | Cold Bay, AK | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| AKN 70326 | King Salmon, AK | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| TWC 72274 | Tucson, AZ | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| LWX 72403 | Washington/Dulles Intl, VA | Unfavorable weather conditions — weather conditions prevented or disrupted the sounding. | 10145 |
| UNR 72662 | Rapid City/Regional Airport, S, SD | Unfavorable weather conditions — weather conditions prevented or disrupted the sounding. | 10145 |
| GCM 78384 | Owen Roberts Airport Grand Cay · Cayman Islands | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| SGF 72440 | Springfield/Municipal, MO | 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 |
| OKX 72501 | Upton, NY | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 458 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 458 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate |
| OKX 72501 | Upton, NY | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 4801 to 473 mb, wet-bulb effect. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 4801 to 473 mb, wet-bulb effect |
| SDQ 78486 | Santo Domingo · Dominican Republic | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 767 to 759 mb, spurious temp/moisture. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 767 to 759 mb, spurious temp/moisture |
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 170316 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0315Z MON AUG 17 2026 The 00Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time with 9 Alaskan, 26 Canadian, 58 CONUS, 11 Mexican, 6 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 72364/EPZ - No report 72388/VEF - No report 72456/TOP - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72786/OTX - No report 70133/OTZ - 10159 70219/BET - 10159 70308/SNP - 10159 70316/CDB - 10142 70326/AKN - 10159 72274/TWC - 10159 72403/LWX - 10145 72662/UNR - 10145 78384/GCM - 10142 72440/SGF - Missing TTBB for NAM, in for GFS 72501/OKX - Purged temp, moist 458 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate 72501/OKX - Purged temp, moist 4801 to 473 mb, wet-bulb effect 78486/SDQ - Purged temp, moist 767 to 759 mb, spurious temp/moisture Renkevens/SDM/NCO