1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

Have weather forecasts seemed less accurate lately? There's a major contributing factor: nearly half the morning weather balloons in the Lower 48 are "missing." It stems from reduced National Weather Service staffing. Weather balloons are inflated by flammable gasses; union rules require two people present to launch one. Staff shortages and vacancies, both due to political and organizational issues, mean many weather forecast offices are staffed by only 1 person overnight. Therefore, no morning weather balloons. This is an ongoing crisis that is degrading critical severe weather forecasts that we all rely on. We can't look at weather balloon data that doesn't exist. We can't pump nonexistent data into models. We can't rely as heavily on models that don't "know" what's happening above our heads. This is especially concerning for severe weather forecasts. We can't go 18 hours without ascertaining how the atmosphere is layered, how much storm fuel has built up and if severe thunderstorms are going to erupt. The Storm Prediction Center has even acknowledged forecasting frustrations in at least one public bulletin. The United States is "supposed" to launch balloons at 0Z and 12Z ideally – a.k.a. around 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time. That's not happening. Many sites, due to staffing issues stemming from broader political and organizational issues, have pushed to 18Z, or early afternoon. That's not helpful for morning severe weather forecasts. In other words, you get less lead time. Less advanced notice. Quicker ramp-ups and ramp-downs to the forecast. We're not able to get jet stream, temperature, moisture or wind profiles of the atmosphere each morning like we otherwise would. Moreover, the World Meteorological Organization encourages 12Z soundings; that data is shared via the Global Observing System (GOS) under the World Weather Watch (WWW). That's not happening. Please write legislation to fix this immediately!