The National Weather Service (NWS) is suspending more weather balloon observations, a critical tool in forecast ability, due to a lack of staffing.
Newsweek reached out to the NWS via email Thursday night for comment.
Why It Matters
During President Donald Trump‘s second term in office, he has implemented the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk.
The department is tasked with identifying and removing perceived waste and abuse in the federal government. Musk has faced immense backlash for the cuts, including thousands of federal jobs and the shuttering of entire agencies.
What To Know
According to a statement from the NWS on Thursday, “Effective immediately, and until further notice, the National Weather Service (NWS) is temporarily suspending weather balloon observations at Omaha, NE and Rapid City, SD, due to a lack of Weather Forecast Office (WFO) staffing. Offices will perform special observations as needed.”
The NWS notes in its statement that it launches balloons from 100 sites twice a day to collect data.
“Radiosondes are instruments attached to weather balloons that send back a
wide range of upper atmospheric data to support weather forecasts, including temperature, dew point, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction,” the statement reads. “Radiosondes are one of many technologies that collect earth observation data for weather modeling and forecasting. Data is also collected from instruments aboard commercial aircraft, surface observing stations, satellites, radars, and buoys.”
This is the not the first time that the NWS and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been forced to suspend the service due to staffing issues. Earlier this month, the NWS halted balloon observation in Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine.
Other offices across the United States are also limiting observations to once a day instead of twice. Hundreds of staffers were also cut from the NOAA in February, agency personnel previously told Newsweek.
What People Are Saying
Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday: “Another two balloon launches bite the dust. Omaha and Rapid City.”
Meteorologist Tomer Burg posted to X on Thursday: “2 additional radiosonde sites are temporarily suspending launches, while 6 others are reducing to one launch a day. 14 out of 83 sites now have partial or no launches. The more radiosondes are reduced or suspended, the more noticeable the forecast skill reduction becomes.”
Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman, in a statement on the NOAA layoffs in February: “Today, over one thousand scientists and experts at NOAA received the news every federal worker has been dreading. Musk and his fake officials, the DOGE tech bros, have been rummaging through our most sensitive data without authority in violation of the law for weeks now. And this has come with sweeping, indiscriminate layoffs of nonpartisan public servants. Park rangers, firefighters, scientists – all of these people, whose purpose is to serve everyday Americans, have had the rug pulled out from under them. And we will all be worse off for it,” Huffman said.
“Musk’s sham mission is bringing vital programs to a screeching halt. People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information. Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives. My Democratic colleagues and I will keep fighting back in state and federal courts, in the halls of Congress, and the court of public opinion. This is a betrayal of the American people, and it will not stand.”
What Happens Next
Musk and DOGE will likely continue to slash the federal government as Trump’s first 100 days in office unfold.