00Z model run on time, 13 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.
128 weather balloon launches were available to feed this run (7 in Alaska, 26 in Canada, 64 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 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.
13 stations were flagged: 4 sent no usable sounding at all, 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| RNK 72318 | Blacksburg, VA | 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 | 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 |
| OME 70200 | Nome, AK | The station reported status code 10158. 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 10158 | 10158 |
| 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 |
| ANN 70398 | Annette Island, AK | Ground equipment failure — the station’s tracking/receiving equipment was down, so no usable sounding was produced. | 10142 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| CRP 72251 | Corpus Christi/Intl, TX | Quality control removed part of this sounding before it reached the models: temp, moist 723 to 706 mb.. super-adiabatic lapse rate. The rest of the sounding was still used. | Purged temp, moist 723 to 706 mb.. super-adiabatic lapse rate. |
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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 220306 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0306Z THU OCT 22 2026 The 00Z NWS model production suite continues to run on time with 7 Alaskan, 26 Canadian, 64 CONUS, 14 Mexican, 7 Caribbean and 10 Pacific stations available for ingest. 00Z GFS RAOB RECAP... 70414/SYA - No report 72206/JAX - No report 72318/RNK - No report 72786/OTX - No report 70133/OTZ - 10159 70200/OME - 10158 70219/BET - 10159 70308/SNP - 10159 70326/AKN - 10159 70398/ANN - 10142 72274/TWC - 10159 78384/GCM - 10142 72251/CRP - Purged temp, moist 723 to 706 mb.. super-adiabatic lapse rate. Renkevens/SDM/NCO