National Weather Service to relaunch twice-daily balloons to predict dangerous storms after Elon Musk’s brutal DOGE cuts

The National Weather Service is preparing to resume twice-daily weather balloon launches nationwide, restoring a key source of forecasting data disrupted by federal workforce cuts, according to a new report.Under Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency pushed cuts that left some NWS offices without enough staff to maintain regular launches. The balloons carry instruments that collect measurements of temperature, humidity, air pressure and winds high in the upper atmosphere.Musk left DOGE in May 2025 after overseeing sweeping cuts to federal jobs and resources, amid widespread public opposition reflected in polls. Despite the initiative’s cost-cutting promises, federal spending increased that year.The cuts to staff and services at the NWS led five former leaders to release a letter calling it their “worst nightmare" that would lead to “needless loss of life." The disruptions had direct consequences for a number of states. In Michigan, for example, launches were suspended or reduced at at least 13 sites, including two where missing observations could have helped forecasters prepare communities for the brutal ice storm that swept northern areas of the state in March 2025, CBS News reported.The National Weather Service is set to resume its twice-daily weather balloon launches, according to a new report (AFP/Getty)“While it [the forecast] showed devastating ice, it ended up still being worse than expected,” Ahmad Bajjey, CBS News Detroit's chief meteorologist, later said. “We couldn't get true real-world data as often as needed.”Now, the NWS — part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — has reportedly been instructed to restore its twice-daily launch schedule.“The restoration of these regularly scheduled launches is particularly significant because missing morning observations can leave gaps in the data used to initialize computer forecast models,” Vytas Reid, a meteorologist for CBS News Detroit, said.“Returning to a consistent schedule provides forecasters with more complete, reliable information, improving their ability to identify developing storms, assess severe weather threats, track changing wind patterns, and anticipate temperature and precipitation trends,” he added.According to the NWS’ website, weather balloon launches take place at 92 sites across the U.S. “The data collected by these weather balloon flights are critical for weather model performance and forecast accuracy.” the site states.