00Z model run on time, 19 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.
122 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (9 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 59 in Lower 48, 13 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.
19 stations were flagged: 5 sent no usable sounding at all, 11 reported a numeric status code, 1 had a balloon burst early, 1 was missing part of the transmission, 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, 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Report not filed — no report was filed for the required sounding. | 10140 |
| 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 | Report not filed — no report was filed for the required sounding. | 10140 |
| AKN 70326 | King Salmon, AK | Report not filed — no report was filed for the required sounding. | 10140 |
| CHS 72208 | Charleston/Municipal, SC | Unfavorable weather conditions — weather conditions prevented or disrupted the sounding. | 10145 |
| MAF 72265 | Midland/Midland Reg. Airterm, TX | 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 |
| TOP 72456 | Topeka/Municipal, KS | 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. This affected the GFS run. | 10142 for GFS |
| POS 78970 | Piarco Intl, Trinidad · Trinidad and Tobago | Any reason not listed above — other or unspecified reason. “Unavailable” may appear as free text, but is not the formal definition. | 10159 |
| LUF 74005 | Yuma Prvgr, AZ | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 473 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 6 km (19,500 ft). This affected the GFS run. (473 mb ≈ 6 km (19,500 ft)) | Short to 473 mb 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 |
| FGZ 72376 | Flagstaff, AZ | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 500 to 497 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 500 to 497 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate |
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 160315 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0314Z SUN AUG 16 2026 The 00Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time with 9 Alaskan, 26 Canadian, 59 CONUS, 13 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 72388/VEF - No report 72645/GRB - No report 72786/OTX - No report 70133/OTZ - 10159 70219/BET - 10140 70308/SNP - 10159 70316/CDB - 10140 70326/AKN - 10140 72208/CHS - 10145 72265/MAF - 10159 72274/TWC - 10159 72456/TOP - 10159 78384/GCM - 10142 for GFS 78970/POS - 10159 74005/LUF - Short to 473 mb for GFS 78016/BDA - Missing TTBB 72376/FGZ - Purged temp, moist 500 to 497 mb, super-adiabatic lapse rate Renkevens/SDM/NCO