00Z model run on time, 18 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.
125 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (8 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 60 in Lower 48, 14 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.
18 stations were flagged: 7 sent no usable sounding at all, 10 reported a numeric status code, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| POS 78970 | Piarco Intl, Trinidad · Trinidad and Tobago | 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 |
| TBW 72210 | Tampa Bay Area, FL | The station reported status code 10145. 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 10145 | 10145 |
| ACA 76805 | Acapulco, Mexico · Mexico | The station reported status code 10144. 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 10144 | 10144 |
| ADQ 70350 | Kodiak, AK | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| BUF 72528 | Buffalo/Greater Buffalo Intl, NY | 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 |
| PNI 91348 | Ponape/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 |
| UIL 72797 | Quillayute, WA | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temps/moisture at 635-634 mb, 606 mb, 598 mb and 579 mb...super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temps/moisture at 635-634 mb, 606 mb, 598 mb and 579 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 030308
ADMSDM
SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD
0307Z THU SEP 03 2026
The 00Z NWS model production suite is currently running on time.
There were 8 Alaskan...26 Canadian...60 CONUS...14 Mexican...7
Caribbean...and 10 Pacific stations available for ingest.
00Z UPDATED RAOB RECAP...
70133/OTZ - 10159
70219/BET - 10159
70308/SNP - 10159
70326/AKN - 10159
72274/TWC - 10159
78970/POS - 10159
72210/TBW - 10145
76805/ACA - 10144
70350/ADQ - 10142
78384/GCM - 10142
70414/SYA - No report
72206/JAX - No report
72388/VEF - No report
72528/BUF - No report
72645/GRB - No report
72786/OTX - No report
91348/PNI - No report for NAM; Available for GFS
72797/UIL - Purged temps/moisture at 635-634 mb, 606 mb, 598 mb
and 579 mb...super-adiabatic lapse rate
Gerhardt/SDM/NCO