Budget approved by Congress decimates weather forecasting

A quick aside to comment on news that will impact forecasters at all levels to keep people safe from weather events.

Forecasting severe weather, particularly hurricanes, is going to become immensely more difficult and, in all likelihood, more inaccurate going forward with Congress recently approving a budget bill that will shutter the research labs responsible for our most accurate weather forecasting models. Read more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-forecasting-data-cut-july-noaa-says/

This will also impact other severe weather forecasts as well, including tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, in all corners of the U.S. The bill was passed by the House and Senate and awaits Trump’s likely signature in the coming days. This comes at a time when the future of FEMA itself is in doubt; the one-two punch of a crippled FEMA and nearly non-existent forecasting apparatus will be a deadly blow to severe weather mitigation.

I wanted to mention this because as we head into the start of hurricane season, my confidence in hurricane forecasts in particular will be significantly lower going forward, until funding is restored. I’m all for cutting waste from the federal budget but public safety isn’t waste, nor is climate and weather research. Especially with the effects of climate change continuing to amplify.