National Weather Service to resume balloon launches in Omaha; staffing set to increase, too
Source: Omaha World Herald
Julie Anderson Apr 25, 2025 Updated 1 hr ago
Twice-daily weather balloon launches will be back on the schedule at the National Weather Service in Valley, Nebraska, and the office will get additional temporary staff next week, Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said Friday.
Flood was scheduled to visit the station later in the day, after surveying hail damage in the Fremont area from an April 17 storm. He previously visited the Valley office late last month, not long after officials announced that the station would cease launching the morning and afternoon balloons because of staff shortages.
Flood said at the time that he was concerned about the cessation of balloon releases heading into the state's usually stormy spring season. The weather service, he said then, should be classified as a public safety entity to protect it from cost-cutting measures.
When potential extreme weather nears Nebraska and the Midwest in the spring, weather balloons launched by stations like Valley have been a crucial tool in providing accurate forecasts.
In this Jan. 26, 2009 photo, Terry Landsvork prepares an evening weather balloon for launch. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Nebraska, announced Friday that twice-daily balloon launches that had been suspended at Valley because of a lack of staffing will be restored and additional meteorologists will be temporarily assigned there.
KILEY CRUSE, THE WORLD-HERALD
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