Twice per day at various locations throughout this country (and the world), a meteorologist walks outside and let's go of a balloon with an instrument pack attached to it that radios back info it observed as it ascended. That info is mission critical to the success of our economy. 🧵 - ThreadSky

altnoaa.bsky.social • 9 days ago

Twice per day at various locations throughout this country (and the world), a meteorologist walks outside and let's go of a balloon with an instrument pack attached to it that radios back info it observed as it ascended. That info is mission critical to the success of our economy. 🧵

Comments

stompythedestroyer.bsky.social•9 days ago

It’s so amazing!!! Would you talk about sensors on the ocean as well?

gingersnapz.bsky.social•8 days ago

It sure as hell is critical to the aviation industry and the flying public!

etudious.bsky.social•9 days ago

Science is so freakin cool.

#defundfascists
#supportscience

mochicats.bsky.social•8 days ago

📌

uncommongrace25.bsky.social•8 days ago

A particular argument against the privatization of weather beyond what you mention here is that there is not a lot of money in providing weather to small areas or remote areas and I can see places being abandoned due to “lack of subs” or whatever hellscape they create.

bbarno.bsky.social•8 days ago

This happens in my city. They train for it at the college in my city, too and get to go to the NWS center. We have a huge tornado season and this will be devastating. I can't understand why people aren't more upset about this with all the extreme weather getting worse. This will cost lives.

blackironfitter669.bsky.social•9 days ago

Farmers are so reliant on real time, up to date weather data. The damage to the country will be huge.

cmdrro.bsky.social•8 days ago

This is the point

blueraven.bsky.social•8 days ago

Nope. The point is to make people PAY FOR THE WEATHER forecast. Lots of money there, or so they think. Maybe MAGA has forgotten they'll PAY FOR THE DAMAGE NOW that free forecasting isn't available.

drnotta.bsky.social•8 days ago

That was last time around they tried to put it behind a paywall. This time they're just tearing it all down. Nobody has the infrastructure to replace NOAA. Not even close. Nobody in the WORLD.

cmdrro.bsky.social•8 days ago

No, if this was just about privatization they would not be so thoroughly destroying the systems that they want co-opt. They are trying to make our food production grind to a halt. They are going after farm subsidies (like WIC, USAID, USDA), not fulfilling farmers' contracts, attacking migrants, etc.

cmdrro.bsky.social•8 days ago

This is being replicated across agencies and is going after things like our military & healthcare system. Systems that can only be made more profitable by staying intact. These attacks only make sense if you view the systematic destruction of our govt as an act of war designed to cause collapse

ecoverdant.bsky.social•8 days ago

🎯

bluelion17.bsky.social•8 days ago

It’s both. The big picture is to destroy the middle class and working class in an effort to enslave us. And while they’re at it, they’ll privatize the NWS and get all us suckers to pay for it. Cuz you know- Oligarchy and such.

tnycruzr.bsky.social•8 days ago

Our cherished Altnoaa. Without you, we would be back in the caves. Alone and afraid of our environment. Never again would we know where Santa 🎅 was. You do so many wonderful things for us, I wouldn't know where to begin. Our love for you is endless. 💐🦋✌️

tnycruzr.bsky.social•8 days ago

You are all spectacular✨️
You take my breath away✨️
Contact Congress
Tell them no to privatization. No to kleptocracy. Keep your hands off our government employees, our government property, and our private information.
https://congress.gov/contact-us

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse Click on 1st Amendment

tnycruzr.bsky.social•8 days ago

Our great great grandparents, great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents kept track of temperature, wind, and other weather conditions on the family homestead every day. The way it is done today is much more preferred. 🦋✌️

gloryholestefan.bsky.social•8 days ago

Saw this on Reddit

montanaquilter.bsky.social•9 days ago

We are so f*cked. If we don't turn this around in the next voting cycle, we will never fix it. Thank you for keeping us safe so far.

adanforth.bsky.social•8 days ago

By then it will be too late. We need to hold Congress accountable NOW. Keep being loud, calling representatives, calling them out for not voting for our the country’s best interest.

montanaquilter.bsky.social•8 days ago

In MT we only have con man butt suckers, they will do anything for him. I call, but it hasn't made one bit of difference. But we all need to keep on trying.

montanaquilter.bsky.social•8 days ago

Daines talks about working with Dodgy DOGE to find areas to shut down. He's a slut for the orange con.

barbaragirouard.bsky.social•8 days ago

The damage will be entrenched by then, completely taken over by the oligarchs who funded Trump’s campaign. It’s too bad, I liked when I could visit Montana, Ennis had a good craft distillery last time I visited.

montanaquilter.bsky.social•8 days ago

I hope you can visit sometime soon and visit with enjoyment. Right now we are all like deer in headlights. We keep trying, but it is really, really hard.

barbaragirouard.bsky.social•8 days ago

The biggest enemy of democracy is apathy and not enough people cherish what they have at stake until it’s almost lost. I hope to travel through again, in less chaotic times, there’s a lot of special places in Montana.

altnoaa.bsky.social•9 days ago

Once the receiving station has this data, it's sent to a central location where it's quality checked and "plugged into" algorithms that produce weather forecasting models. When those models become available other meteorologists begin the process of picking them apart, to interpret them.

elanc.bsky.social•8 days ago

“its quality” not “it’s quality”.

mattrobbie.bsky.social•8 days ago

Actually, the post was typed correctly. “It” referred to the data which is quality checked before building a forecast, therefore “it’s quality checked.” Also, grammar policing was a Bad Place policy, and feels kind of out of place here in the Good Place.

elanc.bsky.social•8 days ago

Got it. Sorry.

altnoaa.bsky.social•8 days ago

For future reference, remember it's short form media and many of us use phones to do this. Next time I'm in need of a manuscript editor tho, I'll keep ya in-mind.

altnoaa.bsky.social•9 days ago

The models produce graphics, but they're not a finished product. It requires someone with proper ability to "best" understand them. These people take this info, along with other pieces of info they gathered and they build a forecast. These forecasts are used by decision makers to drive our economy.

altnoaa.bsky.social•9 days ago

Farmers use them to adjust watering cycles, when to sow, when to harvest. Truckers use them to decide what routes to take so they can be on time. This mostly goes unnoticed by most. But without the National Weather Service, our lives become much more difficult and our economy would suffer.

altnoaa.bsky.social•8 days ago

And here's the fun part... even if you think you're not using the NWS because the app on your phone as another name on it, or the guy on the news has a different logo next to him on the screen... you're still using the NWS because ALL of these sources get their data from those balloons and models!

sterlingstars.bsky.social•8 days ago

Not to mention all of the weather satellite data produced by the GOES satellites that give us a bird's eye view of global weather patterns. I log into NOAA daily for Earth and space weather. I also have a weather alert radio because i live in the country without tornado sirens.
https://www.goes.noaa.gov/

classyearlgrey.bsky.social•8 days ago

And I depend on NWS because I live in floodplain. Their forecasters have been a life saver when things go south.

johnbrintonhogan.bsky.social•8 days ago

I’ve long told people that every weather app gets its info from the same place, noaa, and they are always baffled. Just bookmark https://weather.gov and you got it all. 🌩️🌧️🌪️🌞

gailwaldby.bsky.social•8 days ago

"Mass layoffs with the threat of future reductions has made the future of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, uncertain."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VfCtoxt5lQ

gailwaldby.bsky.social•8 days ago

From impacts to the National Weather Service and disruptions to its data which acts as the “invisible backbone” of almost all weather forecasts, recent cuts to #NOAA are likely to cause harm to public safety, economic well-being, and future climate research."

tenacious-tt.bsky.social•8 days ago

How the fuck are we having to explain why we should have weather forecasts.

wx5ntx.bsky.social•8 days ago

Bc supposedly we now live in a authoritarian constitutional republic & not a free & fair democracy w checks & balances

argovela.bsky.social•8 days ago

Somebody let Elon and Donnie in on the secret, please.

sacornus.bsky.social•8 days ago

We are in the dumbest timeline.

grunteledboomer.bsky.social•9 days ago

A modeler FOR the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has been fired. BECAUSE he was 'probationary', due to a promotion. NOTHING DOG(E) is doing is about waste or fraud, EXCEPT for the fraud Elonia and drumpf are pushing.

susanjohns1820.bsky.social•8 days ago

It's also critical to alerting those in the path of a tornado or severe weather. It saves lives.

curiousearth.bsky.social•8 days ago

🌻🗽 Tomorrow Veterans March
Please join us, pass it on

sojaya.bsky.social•8 days ago

Wondering if you get the balloons back? Amazing work thanks all!

wisemet.bsky.social•8 days ago

They’re single use. The balloons pop and the sondes cost more to refurbish and reuse these days than to use a new one. Years ago, they’d be sent off with a return address in case someone found one in a field. Not so anymore.

altnoaa.bsky.social•8 days ago

Sometimes. The instrument pack has a phone number to call if found. I actually found one once., it was floating just above the ground in the middle I-70 near Limon, Colorado.

fiveminuteactivist.bsky.social•9 days ago

I have always been fascinated by meteorology, and big global phenomena: air currents, ocean currents, etc. (Plate tectonics, too, but I guess that's a matter for USGS! Is there an AltUSGS, come to think of it??)

larry.earth•8 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:3kvdthvlq7ghbf5irbdtfhbj

fiveminuteactivist.bsky.social•8 days ago

Hey, thanks!

larry.earth•8 days ago

By the way, there's a starter pack containing all the vetted alt gov accounts

https://go.bsky.app/FLUwv5d

And a feed that lets you see all their posts and replies in one place

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ugdiki2sjvpxvhzsvuvaygaw/feed/alt_gov

fiveminuteactivist.bsky.social•8 days ago

Yeah, saw that some time ago. Thought I had followed all, but perhaps USGS was added after the fact, or perhaps I didn't! Thanks very much!

larry.earth•8 days ago

You are most certainly welcome! They add people from time to time.

aqualken.bsky.social•8 days ago

Great video all about this:
https://youtu.be/V0Xx0E8cs7U?si=mOvlvhgzv2h0Xa-i

notmickey.bsky.social•8 days ago

📌

grokmilk.bsky.social•9 days ago

What is stopping them from releasing a bigger balloon with a billionaire attached?

drnotta.bsky.social•8 days ago

You want reliable data coming back though.

gingersnapz.bsky.social•8 days ago

“Billionaires die of oxygen starvation on ascent of balloon” would be reliable enough data for me!

nikkis749.bsky.social•8 days ago

boatman62.bsky.social•9 days ago

And is critical to me in my Business and livelihood
And that of every Sailor on the Sea
Flier's in the Air
City and Town Managers planning for Floods and Snow
NOAA watches my back on each and every Voyage, helps Fishermen put food on your table, helps deliver Cargo.
Much Appreciated!

grunteledboomer.bsky.social•9 days ago

❤️

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