Weather intelligence and technology company Meteomatics, today announced their partnership with NOAA’s National Mesonet Program (NMP) to make operational weather drone data available to the National Weather Service for the first time. The company’s Meteodrones will collect lower-atmospheric data, between 50 and 20,000 feet above ground, where the national observing system is thinnest. Through work with KBR, the NMP Prime Contractor and Synoptic Data PBC, the lead subcontractor, these drone insights will be integrated into U.S. weather forecasts and daily operations. 

Meteodrones provide vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind in this lower slice of the atmosphere, where some of the most impactful weather develops. By filling these data gaps with frequent measurements, forecasters gain clearer signals, such as where thunderstorms will form, when fog will lift, whether a winter storm will bring rain, snow, or ice, how smoke and poor air quality will spread, and when dangerous low‑level winds will develop. Better observations lead to more confident forecasts, which translate into more timely warnings and fewer disruptions for aviation, highways, utilities, agriculture, and emergency management. 

As a part of an initial pilot project, from February until the end of April 2026, Meteomatics will run routine flights from a remotely operated Meteobase in Oklahoma. Meteobases allow pilots to manage drone operations at many sites from a remote operations center, increasing efficiency and operational flexibility.

“Public-private partnerships like the National Mesonet Program are essential to expand national weather observing capabilities, especially as weather events become more severe”, said Martin Fengler, CEO of Meteomatics. “Our Meteodrones were designed for exactly this purpose, strengthening forecasts with previously inaccessible data to prepare and protect nations. By infusing our data into the NWS’s strong capabilities, we hope to advance what modern weather forecasting is capable of.”

“Synoptic’s mission is to expand access to observational data, and our work with the National Mesonet Program ensures NOAA and the NWS are receiving the most high-quality, lowest latency data to support their mission of saving lives and protecting property,” said Ashish Raval, President/CEO of Synoptic Data.

Under NMP, the KBR team provides meteorological observation data sourced from non-federal observing networks, including 35,000 observing platforms covering all 50 states. This data supports the NWS and NOAA in forecasting, severe-weather warning and climate monitoring.

 “This partnership marks a major step forward in advancing NOAA’s long‑standing goal of enhancing vertical profiling across the U.S. observing system,” said Ellen Cousins, KBR’s NMP program manager. “By integrating drone-collected data into national forecasts, we are helping fill critical gaps in the lower atmosphere while strengthening public-private collaboration in operational weather observation.”

About Meteomatics

Meteomatics is a weather intelligence and technology company that enables precision forecasts of the weather’s impact on businesses anywhere in the world at any time. More than 600 companies, including Tesla, CVS Health, Swiss Re, McCain, NASA, Honda, Airbus, Stellantis, and Axpo Power, rely on Meteomatics for weather data that can significantly impact everything from energy savings and logistics to process automation and risk management to product design. The company’s robust approach to weather data collection, modeling, visualization, and delivery rivals even the most sophisticated government and commercial services. Its autonomous Meteodrone, paired with high-resolution weather models, enables granular visibility (down to a single square km) into weather phenomena that traditional weather sensing technology does not regularly or accurately observe. Meteomatics is headquartered in Switzerland, with local operations in the U.S. (New York City), the UK, Germany (Berlin), Norway (Oslo), and Spain. 

About Synoptic Data

Synoptic Data is building the world’s largest real-time environmental data platform. As a Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider, we deliver high-resolution, real-time and historical weather and environmental data at scale, supporting critical decisions across public safety, infrastructure, research, and operations. Our platform combines cutting-edge cloud architecture, scalable APIs, and a robust data integration framework to turn complex environmental data into actionable insights. Our intuitive tools—such as the Synoptic Data Viewer and Weather API—make complex environmental data easily accessible and reliable across diverse industries. Trusted by businesses, government agencies, and researchers, Synoptic enables faster, smarter responses to weather and climate-related challenges. Synoptic is a certified B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation, committed to advancing environmental data accessibility and resilience. Learn more at www.synopticdata.com.

About KBR 

We deliver science, technology and engineering solutions to governments and companies around the world. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide with customers in more than 80 countries and operations in over 29 countries. KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, and long-term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.