12Z model run on time, 1 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.
104 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (12 in Alaska, 24 in Canada, 37 in Lower 48, 13 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 for the GFS.
Balloon reports UPDATED 12Z 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.
1 station was flagged: 1 sent no usable sounding at all, 1 reported a numeric status code. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UIL 72797 | Quillayute, 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. unrecognised status code 10159 | No report for NAM..10159 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 271505 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 1504Z SUN SEP 27 2026 The 12Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time with 12 Alaskan..24 Canadian..37 CONUS..13 Mexican..9 Caribbean..and 9 Pacific stations available for ingest into the 12Z GFS. In addition, there were 10 dropsondes courtesy of USAF Reserve aircraft recon missions in the vicinity of Nolo in the Central Pacific. UPDATED 12Z RAOB RECAP... 72797/UIL - No report for NAM..10159 for GFS Churchill/SDM/NCO