An incomplete picture of weather without borders

Weather knows no borders, so a storm brewing in Mexico often impacts the skies in U.S. border states and beyond. (Can't they build a wall for that?) Recently, however, systematic budget cuts at Servicio Meteorologico Nacional, Mexico's national weather service, have led to less frequent launching of weather-measuring balloons south of the border, resulting in less accurate weather projections on the U.S. side, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune:

The lack of data could make it harder for forecasters to predict the timing and intensity of thunderstorms, and that could cause complications in potential flash-flood situations.

"It could be that we'll get surprised one way or another," said Ed Clark, warning coordination meteorologist at the Weather Service's Rancho Bernardo office. "The models could show a storm being a little wetter or drier than it really is."

Mexican weather service official Olivia Parada Hernandez said cuts began during Vicente Fox's presidency. Felipe to the rescue? I've always found it strange how U.S. weather maps sometimes show Mexico and Canada as blank blotches, as if people in Seattle don't care what Vancouver feels like, or El Paso has no interest in temps in Cd. Juarez. On the other hand, I've seen Spanish-language weather broadcasts show state boundaries and weather patterns in detail on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico line, in accordance with reality.

* U-T link here. Image of current trinational conditions as of Tuesday evening from Yahoo! El tiempo - America del Norte.