12Z model run on time, 34 balloon reports flagged
Model status
NWS is producing the 12Z model run on schedule. Forecast model output should reach forecasters, apps and websites at the usual times.
“12Z” 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.
109 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (12 in Alaska, 25 in Canada, 43 in Lower 48, 11 in Mexico, 9 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 12Z 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 12Z run.
34 stations were flagged: 25 sent no usable sounding at all, 7 reported a numeric status code, 1 had a balloon burst early, 2 were 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; Available for GFS |
| LCH 72240 | Lake Charles/Municipal, LA | 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 |
| SHV 72248 | Shreveport/Reg, LA | 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 |
| BRO 72250 | Brownsville/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 |
| 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 |
| AMA 72363 | Amarillo/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 |
| 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 |
| ABQ 72365 | Albuquerque/Intl, NM | 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 |
| FGZ 72376 | Flagstaff, AZ | 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 |
| DDC 72451 | Dodge City/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 |
| GJT 72476 | Grand Junction/Walker Field, CO | 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 |
| OAX 72558 | Valley, NE | 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 |
| LBF 72562 | North Platte/Lee Bird, NE | 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 |
| LKN 72582 | Elko, 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 |
| MFR 72597 | Medford/Medford-Jackson County, OR | 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 |
| ABR 72659 | Aberdeen/Reg, SD | 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 model for this cycle — either no launch happened or the data did not arrive in time. | No report |
| RIW 72672 | Riverton, WY | 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 |
| BOI 72681 | Boise/Municipal, ID | 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 |
| CAR 72712 | Caribou/Municipal, ME | 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 |
| BIS 72764 | Bismarck/Municipal, ND | 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 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 |
| DVN 74455 | Quad City, IA | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| GYM 76256 | Empalme, Mexico · Mexico | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| ZAC 76526 | Zacatecas Sondeo · Mexico | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| GCM 78384 | Owen Roberts Airport Grand Cay · Cayman Islands | Ground equipment failure — the receiving, tracking, processing, or other ground system failed. | 10142 |
| OHX 72327 | Nashville/Metropolitan, TN | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 624 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 3.9 km (13,000 ft). (624 mb ≈ 3.9 km (13,000 ft)) | Short to 624.0mb...10141 |
| SLC 72572 | Salt Lake City/Intl Ut, UT | 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; Full report for GFS |
| BDA 78016 | L F Wade Intl · Bermuda | 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. | Missing TTBB |
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 201502 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 1501Z THU AUG 20 2026 The 12Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time. There were 12 Alaskan...25 Canadian...43 CONUS...11 Mexican...9 Caribbean and 9 Pacific stations available for ingest. 12Z UPDATED RAOB RECAP... 70414/SYA - No report for NAM; Available for GFS 72240/LCH - No report 72248/SHV - No report 72250/BRO - No report 72251/CRP - No report 72363/AMA - No report 72364/EPZ - No report 72365/ABQ - No report 72376/FGZ - No report 72451/DDC - No report 72476/GJT - No report 72558/OAX - No report 72562/LBF - No report 72582/LKN - No report 72597/MFR - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72659/ABR - No report 72662/UNR - No report 72672/RIW - No report 72681/BOI - No report 72712/CAR - No report 72764/BIS - No report 72768/GGW - No report 72786/OTX - No report 74455/DVN - No report 70308/SNP - 10159 70326/AKN - 10159 72274/TWC - 10159 76256/GYM - 10159 76526/ZAC - 10142 78384/GCM - 10142 72327/OHX - Short to 624.0mb...10141 72572/SLC - Missing TTBB for NAM; Full report for GFS 78016/BDA - Missing TTBB Gerhardt/SDM/NCO