00Z model run on time, 17 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 (10 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 60 in Lower 48, 11 in Mexico, 7 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 UPDATED 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.
17 stations were flagged: 6 sent no usable sounding at all, 10 reported a numeric status code, 1 had a balloon burst early, 1 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; Available 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 |
| 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 |
| YAP 91413 | Yap/Caroline Is · Micronesia | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for NAM; Available for GFS |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| MAF 72265 | Midland/Midland Reg. Airterm, TX | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| 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 |
| BIS 72764 | Bismarck/Municipal, ND | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| MZL 76654 | Manzanillo, Col · Mexico | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| GCM 78384 | Owen Roberts Airport Grand Cay · Cayman Islands | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| YLT 71082 | Alert Ua, Nu · Canada | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 727 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 2.7 km (9,000 ft). (727 mb ≈ 2.7 km (9,000 ft)) | Short to 727.0mb.. 10150 |
| TFX 72776 | Great Falls, MT | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: spurious surface winds. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged spurious surface winds |
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 020301 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0300Z SUN AUG 02 2026 The 00Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time. There were 10 Alaskan...26 Canadian...60 CONUS...11 Mexican...7 Caribbean and 10 Pacific stations available for ingest. 00Z UPDATED RAOB RECAP... 70414/SYA - No report for NAM; Available for GFS 72206/JAX - No report 72388/VEF - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72786/OTX - No report 91413/YAP - No report for NAM; Available for GFS 70133/OTZ - 10159 70219/BET - 10159 70308/SNP - 10159 70326/AKN - 10159 72265/MAF - 10142 72274/TWC - 10159 72764/BIS - 10142 76654/MZL - 10159 78384/GCM - 10142 71082/YLT - Short to 727.0mb.. 10150 72776/TFX - Purged spurious surface winds Gerhardt/SDM/NCO