Should we be concerned about the loss of weather balloons?
Due to staff reductions, retirements, and a federal hiring freeze, the National Weather Service has announced a series of suspensions involving weather balloon launches in recent weeks. The question is, will this significantly degrade forecasts in the United States and around the world?
On February 27, it was announced that balloon launches would be suspended entirely at Kotzebue, Alaska, due to staffing shortages.In early March, Albany, N.Y., and Gray, Maine, announced periodic disruptions in launches. Since March 7, it appears that Gray has not missed any balloon launchesthrough Saturday. Albany, however,has missed 14 of them, all during the morning launch cycle (12z).
The kicker came on Thursday afternoon when it was announced that all balloon launches would be suspended in Omaha, Neb., and Rapid City, S.D., due to staffing shortages. Additionally, the balloon launches in Aberdeen, S.D.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Green Bay, Wis.; Gaylord, Mich.; North Platte, Neb.; and Riverton, Wyo., would be reduced to once a day from twice a day.