00Z model run on time, 15 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.
126 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (9 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 61 in Lower 48, 14 in Mexico, 7 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 UPDATED 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.
15 stations were flagged: 4 sent no usable sounding at all, 10 reported a numeric status code, 1 had a balloon burst early. 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 model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| 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 |
| 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 | 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 |
| YAK 70361 | Yakutat, AK | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. This affected the GFS run. | 10142...Ground equipment failure...Full report in for the GFS |
| TBW 72210 | Tampa Bay Area, FL | The station reported status code 10158. 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 10158 | 10158...Flight equipment failure |
| 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 |
| SLE 72694 | Salem/Mcnary, OR | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142...Flight equipment failure |
| 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...Flight equipment failure |
| KWA 91366 | Kwajalein/Bucholz Aaf, Marshal · Marshall Islands | 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 |
| MID 76644 | Aeropuerto Intl Merida, Mexico · Mexico | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 492 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 5.7 km (18,500 ft). (492 mb ≈ 5.7 km (18,500 ft)) | Short to 492mb |
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 030304
ADMSDM
SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD
0303Z SAT OCT 03 2026
00Z NWS model production is running on time with 9
Alaskan...26 Canadian...61 CONUS...14 Mexican...7
Caribbean...and 9 Pacific stations available for ingest.
UPDATED 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP...
70414/SYA - No report
72206/JAX - No report
72645/GRB - No report
72786/OTX - No report
70133/OTZ - 10159
70219/BET - 10159
70308/SNP - 10159
70326/AKN - 10159
70361/YAK - 10142...Ground equipment failure...Full report
in for the GFS
72210/TBW - 10158...Flight equipment failure
72274/TWC - 10159
72694/SLE - 10142...Flight equipment failure
78384/GCM - 10142...Flight equipment failure
91366/KWA - 10159
76644/MID - Short to 492mb
Kempisty/SDM/NCO