GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Green Bay's National Weather Service office will launch one weather balloon a day instead of two to check the atmosphere. We asked two atmospheric sciences professors what they think about the change.
- See what a weather balloon looks like in the video below
- The National Weather Service says they will be launching balloons half as often because of a staffing shortage
- One University of Wisconsin-Madison atmospheric sciences professor believes the staffing shortage is a result of DOGE federal staff reductions
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
The National Weather Service here in Green Bay said they will be launching only one weather balloon per day instead of two, because they are short staffed. I'm Pari Apostolakos and I learned what this could mean for weather forecasts and why some experts are not happy about the news.
Watch Pari Apostolakos' full broadcast story below:
"It's going to have big impacts and none of them will be positive," Jonathan Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Professor said over Zoom Friday afternoon.
The weather balloons send back data about temperature, dew point, humidity, wind speed and more to support forecasts. Professor Michael C. Morgan at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said the cutback could make forecasts less certain.
"We might anticipate on average there's going to be a decrease [in forecast certainty] because we have fewer observations going into our forecast models," Morgan said over Zoom Friday afternoon.
But, Morgan said the one-launch-a-day rule might not be hard and fast.
"I think in situations in which severe weather is likely imminent, they may be able to ease back on that and be able to launch as necessary in those conditions," Morgan said.
Professor Martin said he believes the staffing shortage is a direct result of cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
"That's why this particular one gets me so heated, is because it's clear that the weather service is under staffed," Martin said. "There are people in severe weather emergencies working, you know, 15 to 20 hour days."
Martin said he has never seen weather information gathering tools be rolled back in his four decades in the industry.
"Should people be afraid?" I asked him.
"What people should be, I think, is angry," Martin said. "There's no reason why in the United States of America we should have a reduction in the service provided by the National Weather Service."
Martin said the cost for each weather balloon launch is about $200 dollars and the tools can be re-used if they are found and mailed back to the National Weather Service at no cost to the person who finds them.
"The more data we can feed into our weather models, the more accurate our forecasts, but I can't speculate on the extent of future impacts," NOAA spokesperson Susan Buchanan wrote in an email Friday.
Green Bay's office isn't the only one which is reducing weather balloon flights. Several others nationwide are making the same cuts.
