LAST SATURDAY OF OCTOBER, GETTING DATA THAT IS HELPFUL WHEN FORECASTING, ESPECIALLY DURING SEVERE WEATHER SEASON, COULD BECOME MORE DIFFICULT. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS NAMED ITS OMAHA AND RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA LOCATIONS AS TWO OF SEVERAL SUSPENDING OR REDUCING ITS WEATHER BALLOON LAUNCHES. THIS IS TIED TO JOB CUTS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY. vlog KAYLA JAMES SHOWS US WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OMAHA AND THE EFFECT IT COULD HAVE ON US IN CENTRAL IOWA. KAYLA. WELL, STACY AND BEN, WEATHER BALLOONS GIVE METEOROLOGISTS INFORMATION ON THE TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, AND WIND. IOWA STATE PROFESSOR OF METEOROLOGY BILL GALLUS TELLS ME THE QUALITY OF FORECASTS MIGHT BE IMPACTED, BUT METEOROLOGISTS WON’T BE FLYING BLIND. THE OMAHA AND RAPID CITY LOCATIONS ARE GOING FROM DOING TWO WEATHER BALLOON LAUNCHES A DAY TO ZERO, DUE TO NOT HAVING THE STAFFING. THAT BEING SAID, BOTH LOCATIONS CAN STILL DO SPECIAL BALLOON LAUNCHES. GALLUS TELLS ME THOSE COULD OCCUR ON DAYS THEY KNOW TO EXPECT SEVERE WEATHER. HE ALSO SAYS THERE ARE OTHER METHODS THAT CAN BE USED WHEN COLLECTING SOME DATA, SUCH AS SATELLITES. THEY’RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY WORK WORK FROM THAT DATA AND DERIVE WHAT THE TEMPERATURES LOOK LIKE AND THE MOISTURE AND THE WIND. GALLUS ALSO SAYS DATA CAN ALSO BE COLLECTED WHEN AIRCRAFTS ARE LANDING OR TAKING OFF, BUT MANY EXPERTS SAY AIRCRAFT, ALONG WITH SATELLITE DATA, CAN’T
National Weather Service cuts back on weather balloon launches at some sites due to staffing
Weather balloons provide information that meteorologists and computer models use to forecast the weather and figure out how dangerous it can get.
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Updated: 7:06 PM CDT Mar 24, 2025
With job cuts stemming from DOGE cuts, the National Weather Service is reducing or temporarily suspending weather balloon launches in eight locations across the U.S. That brings the total to 11 in the past month. Weather balloons provide information that meteorologists and computer models use to forecast the weather and figure out how dangerous it can get, meaning less data could make forecasts less accurate. According to Bill Gallus, a professor of meteorology at Iowa State University, this is done through an instrument attached to the balloon, which provides data into computer models in areas such as temperatures, moisture, and winds.He says it can help find narrow layers that are dry or wet or warm and cold, which play a role in severe thunderstorms forming. The NWS launches weather balloons at around 92 sites in the U.S. The NWS locations in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Grand Junction, Colorado, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gaylord, Michigan, North Platte, Nebraska, and Riverton, Wyoming, are reducing the launches from two time a day to once. The Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota, locations are temporarily suspending the launches altogether, but they can still do special launches when needed. “If we know it’s going to be a very stormy weather day, chances are they will go ahead and launch a balloon, which will really help,” Gallus said. “I think the concern is — as anybody who lives in Iowa knows — sometimes we have surprise severe weather days like we don’t actually expect much. The fear is on a day like that, they probably won’t be asked to launch a special balloon in the morning.” Gallus said while it could possibly hurt forecasts to lose data specific to weather ballons, data can be gathered from satellites and aircraft. However, many experts say aircraft and satellite data can’t completely replace balloons yet. » Subscribe to vlog's YouTube page» Download the free vlog app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
DES MOINES, Iowa — With job cuts stemming from DOGE cuts, the National Weather Service is reducing or temporarily suspending weather balloon launches in eight locations across the U.S. That brings the total to 11 in the past month.
Weather balloons provide information that meteorologists and computer models use to forecast the weather and figure out how dangerous it can get, meaning less data could make forecasts less accurate. According to Bill Gallus, a professor of meteorology at Iowa State University, this is done through an instrument attached to the balloon, which provides data into computer models in areas such as temperatures, moisture, and winds.
He says it can help find narrow layers that are dry or wet or warm and cold, which play a role in severe thunderstorms forming.
The NWS launches weather balloons at around 92 sites in the U.S. The NWS locations in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Grand Junction, Colorado, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Gaylord, Michigan, North Platte, Nebraska, and Riverton, Wyoming, are reducing the launches from two time a day to once.
The Omaha, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota, locations are temporarily suspending the launches altogether, but they can still do special launches when needed.
“If we know it’s going to be a very stormy weather day, chances are they will go ahead and launch a balloon, which will really help,” Gallus said. “I think the concern is — as anybody who lives in Iowa knows — sometimes we have surprise severe weather days like we don’t actually expect much. The fear is on a day like that, they probably won’t be asked to launch a special balloon in the morning.”
Gallus said while it could possibly hurt forecasts to lose data specific to weather ballons, data can be gathered from satellites and aircraft.
However, many experts say aircraft and satellite data can’t completely replace balloons yet.
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