'Better understanding of what's heading our way': NWS weather balloon suspension lifted (2025)

NEWSWATCH SEVEN AT SIX. WEATHER BALLOONS WILL LAUNCH BACK UP AGAIN FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN VALLEY. THANKS FOR JONING US. I’M QUANECIA FRASER, OMAHA’S NEWS LEADER. BROKE THE NEWS HOURS AFTER CONGRESSMAN MIKE FLOOD RECEIVED CONFIRMATION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE. AND AS KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S MADDIE AUGUSTINE REPORTS, IN THE WAKE OF THURSDAY’S SEVERE STORMS, EXPERTS ARE WEIGHING IN ON HOW VITAL THE TOOLS REALLY ARE. MADDY. QUANECIA. THIS IS THE OFFICE WHERE THOSE BALLOONS ARE LAUNCHED FROM, AND WITHOUT THEM, METEOROLOGISTS SAY THERE IS JUST A GAP IN THE DATA. SO REINSTATING THEM IS GOOD NOT ONLY FOR NEBRASKA, BUT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. WHEN IT COMES TO FORECASTING SEVERE WEATHER. WEATHER BALLOONS ARE VITAL AS IT TRAVELS UP THE ATMOSPHERE. IT’S COLLECTING WIND TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY. ALL OF THESE THINGS HELP YOU GET A PICTURE OF A CROSS SECTION OF WHAT’S GOING ON. YOU KNOW, UP IN THE SKY, SO YOU HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT’S HEADING OUR WAY. ON MARCH 28TH, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN VALLEY ANNOUNCED THE SUSPENSION OF DAILY LAUNCHES DUE TO STAFFING. WHEN YOU PAIR THE DOWNED FIVE POSITIONS, PLUS THE BUYOUT, IT’S REDUCED OUR NUMBER OF FORECASTERS HERE TO EIGHT, WHEN IT SHOULD BE AT 13. SINCE THEN, THE METRO AREA HAS BEEN HIT BY SEVERE STORMS. SOME OF THE FORECAST MODELS HAVE JUST BEEN MISSING. SOME OF THESE STORMS THAT ARE POPPING UP, NONE OF THEM HAVE THEM. AND IN THE CASE OF THURSDAY’S SEVERE WEATHER, METEOROLOGIST CAITLIN HARVEY SAYS WITHOUT WEATHER BALLOON DATA, THE FORECAST MODELS WERE ONLY BRINGING UP SMALL HAIL AND SOME DAMAGING WIND POSSIBILITIES. WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING WAS THE THE COLD FRONT REALLY KIND OF STALLED AND JUST BALLOONED EVERYTHING UP. UNFORTUNATELY, RIGHT OVER DOWNTOWN OMAHA. AND THAT CONTINUED ON EASTWARD INTO IOWA BEFORE COMBINING WITH ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WITH CONSTITUENTS AND THE NWS OFFICE IN VALLEY VOICING CONCERNS, CONGRESSMAN MIKE FLOOD SAYS HE TOOK THE ISSUE STRAIGHT TO THE WHITE HOUSE. I WAS CALLED LAST FRIDAY BY THE WHITE HOUSE TO SAY THAT THEY HAD LOOKED INTO THIS, AND THEY AGREE CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE HERE. FLOOD SAYS THE IMPORTANCE OF WEATHER BALLOONS AND A FULLY STAFFED NWS OFFICE WERE EVIDENT, ESPECIALLY IN THE HEIGHT OF SEVERE WEATHER SEASON. AND NOW A PLAN HAS BEEN CREATED TO HELP SOLVE THE ISSUE. TWO FORECASTERS ARE GOING TO BE COMING TO OMAHA FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEY WILL BE LOCATED HERE IMMEDIATELY. NEXT WEEK, THEY’LL BE ON WHAT’S CALLED TEMPORARY DUTY ASSIGNMENTS. THOSE TWO POSITIONS HAVE THE ABILITY TO BECOME PERMANENT. THE BALLOONS. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE ONE WEATHER BALLOON GOING UP DAILY NEXT WEEK THAT GOES TO TWO WEATHER BALLOONS AT THIS LOCATION. A CHANGE OMAHA’S WEATHER LEADER BELIEVES WILL BE BENEFICIAL NATIONWIDE. THIS IS GOING TO DO NOTHING BUT HELP. FLOOD MET WITH THE STAFF HERE IN VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. HE SAYS THIS LONG-TERM PROCESS WILL TAKE TIME, BUT THIS IS A WIN FOR EVERYONE AND THE NWS OFFICES IN RAPID CITY AND NORTH PLATTE ALSO HAD THEIR WEATHER BALLOON. OPERATION IN MARCH. FLOOD SAYS A NATIONWIDE MESSAGE WENT OUT, AND THOSE OFFICES WILL ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO HIRE NEW STAFF TO HELP WITH THE PROBLEM.