12Z model run on time, 13 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.
132 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (11 in Alaska, 25 in Canada, 64 in Lower 48, 14 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 UPDATED 12Z 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 12Z run of the GFS.
13 stations were flagged: 7 sent no usable sounding at all, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| GYM 76256 | Empalme, Mexico · Mexico | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temps/moisture 752-742mb...wet bulb effect. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temps/moisture 752-742mb...wet bulb effect |
| ANN 70398 | Annette Island, 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 for the NAM/GFS |
| 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 for the NAM/GFS |
| LZK 72340 | Little Rock/Adams Field, AR | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| LWX 72403 | Washington/Dulles Intl, VA | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| DDC 72451 | Dodge City/Municipal, KS | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| OAX 72558 | Valley, NE | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| NKX 72293 | San Diego/Miramar, NAS, CA | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142...Ground equipment failure |
| MZL 76654 | Manzanillo, Col · Mexico | The balloon burst early. It stopped reporting at 667 mb, so this sounding only covers the lower part of the atmosphere — forecasters and models got no data above roughly 3.4 km (11,000 ft). The GFS run still got a usable report from this station. (667 mb ≈ 3.4 km (11,000 ft)) | Short to 667mb for the NAM...Full report in for the GFS |
| ACA 76805 | Acapulco, Mexico · Mexico | No weather balloon data from this station reached the NAM run. The GFS run did get a report from it. | No report for the NAM...Full report in for the 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 Part 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 021513
ADMSDM
SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD
1512Z MON NOV 02 2026
12Z NWS model production is running on time with 11
Alaskan...25 Canadian...64 CONUS...14 Mexican...9
Caribbean...and 9 Pacific stations available for ingest.
UPDATED 12Z GFS RAOB RECAP...
76256/GYM - Purged temps/moisture 752-742mb...wet bulb
effect
70398/ANN - No report for the NAM/GFS
70414/SYA - No report for the NAM/GFS
72340/LZK - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72403/LWX - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72451/DDC - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
72558/OAX - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
70308/SNP - 10159
72274/TWC - 10159
72293/NKX - 10142...Ground equipment failure
76654/MZL - Short to 667mb for the NAM...Full report in for
the GFS
76805/ACA - No report for the NAM...Full report in for the
GFS
78016/BDA - Missing Part TTBB
Kempisty/SDM/NCO