Are Radiosonde Launches Important to Aviation?

With the recent government staffing cuts, there has been a need to indefinitely suspend them at three upper-air stations.

Scott Dennstaedt, Ph.D

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

There has been a need to indefinitely suspend radiosonde launches at three upper-air stations. [Courtesy: Scott Dennstaedt]

Key Takeaways:

The National Weather Service (NWS) is suspending radiosonde launches at three upper-air stations due to government staffing cuts, with more suspensions anticipated.
Radiosondes are balloon-borne instruments that gather crucial upper-atmosphere data on pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed/direction.
This data is essential for feeding weather prediction models, which in turn support severe weather, marine, and aviation forecasts.
Reduced radiosonde observations can lead to significant forecast errors, impacting the accuracy of weather guidance used by pilots and forecasters, especially during severe weather events.

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Question: I heard the NWS is suspending some radiosonde launches. Are these important to aviation?

Answer: With the recent government staffing cuts throughout the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that includes the National Weather Service (NWS), there has been a need to indefinitely suspend radiosonde launches at three upper-air stations. This includes launches at Kotzebue, Alaska; Gray, Maine; and Albany, New York. Further staffing cuts and early retirements will undoubtedly cause more suspensions to occur in the coming months.

Radiosonde package, balloon, string and parachute being dragged out of the shelter for a launch at 23Z. [Courtesy: Scott Dennstaedt]

What is a radiosonde? Meteorologists from the NWS launch balloon-borne instruments known as a radiosonde at 102 stations locations (called upper-air stations) throughout the U.S. and its territories (69 in the conterminous U.S., 13 in Alaska, nine in the Pacific, one in Puerto Rico, and 10 other stations in the Caribbean). There are about 1,300 upper-air stations worldwide.