NEW YORK, Jan 17, 2026, 10:33 EST
- Meteomatics says NOAA’s National Mesonet Program will bring weather-drone observations into National Weather Service operations for the first time
- The drones are designed to profile winds, humidity and temperature in the lower atmosphere, a layer seen as thinly observed
- Initial flights are planned from a remotely operated base in Oklahoma, with data routed via KBR and Synoptic Data
NOAA will begin taking in “weather drone” observations for U.S. forecast operations under a new partnership with Swiss weather-data firm Meteomatics, the company said this week. Meteomatics said the feed will run through NOAA’s National Mesonet Program, which already delivers data sourced from non-federal networks, including 35,000 observing platforms across all 50 states. (Meteomatics)
The push targets a stubborn gap in the U.S. observing system: the lower atmosphere, roughly 50 feet to 20,000 feet above ground, where many high-impact weather events start to take shape. That is where fog forms, storms organize and low-level winds turn dangerous, but it remains hard to watch in fine detail. (DroneDJ)
Meteomatics is betting that better sampling in that layer can tighten real-time calls that matter to the public — from whether a winter storm falls as rain, snow or ice to how smoke and poor air quality spread. The company says the goal is sharper warning timing and fewer knock-on disruptions for sectors such as aviation and highway operations. (DRONELIFE)
The pilot will route Meteomatics’ autonomous “Meteodrones” into daily operations via the National Mesonet Program, with KBR as prime contractor and Synoptic Data PBC handling data delivery, Commercial UAV News reported. “Public-private partnerships like the National Mesonet Program are essential to expand national weather observing capabilities,” Meteomatics CEO Martin Fengler said in a statement, while Synoptic Data President and CEO Ashish Raval said the effort aims to deliver “the most high-quality, lowest latency data” into NOAA and Weather Service systems. (Commercialuavnews)
Meteomatics plans routine flights from a remotely operated “Meteobase” in Oklahoma through April 2026, with flights managed from a centralized operations center, AVweb reported. KBR’s National Mesonet Program manager Ellen Cousins called the integration of drone data “a major step forward” toward stronger vertical profiling — repeated measurements at many heights — across the U.S. observing system. (Avweb)
NOAA’s Weather Service has already been testing commercial drone observations under research agreements, including a two-year project signed in May 2024 to fly Meteomatics drones at GrandSKY in North Dakota up to 16,900 feet. “Additional observations in the atmospheric boundary layer” are key to improving forecasts and warnings, Curtis Marshall, a lead for the agency’s Commercial Data Program, said at the time; the boundary layer is the lowest part of the atmosphere near the surface. (National Weather Service)
The drone feed also drops into a crowded market for private weather observations sold into government systems. The National Mesonet Program’s website lists commercial partners that include WeatherFlow Inc., WindBorne Systems and Sofar Ocean, among others. (National Mesonet Program)
But the work starts as a pilot, not a rewrite of the national network. It is still an open question how much forecast “skill” the extra profiles add once the data are used day after day, and whether the program scales beyond a single launch site.
Weather drones do one thing well: they climb and descend over a fixed point, building a profile that does not drift away mid-flight. That can help forecasters spot fast changes close to the ground, where conditions can flip quickly.
Meteomatics has not said how many drones it plans to fly in Oklahoma or how often they will launch, and it has not disclosed financial terms for the pilot.
