“We may be flying blind and we may not know exactly how strong a hurricane is before it reaches the coastline”. That was the shocking message that Miami Meteorologist John Morales delivered to his viewers a few months ago. Morales explained that because of the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the National Weather Service and NOAA, that for the first time in 34 years in South Florida, he may not be able to deliver accurate hurricane forecasts.
It was a sobering moment on television for people not just in Florida, but all over the country. More than 500 weather employees were let go by DOGE earlier this year, with more cuts to staff and funding planned.
But those cuts got a lot of pushback, and today there is GOOD NEWS to report!
Longtime Richmond meteorologist Jim Duncan was vocal about the danger of these cuts on his social media earlier this year, but his concern is now much less. “This is particularly important with the heart of hurricane season now here and gives more confidence now (that I and others previously feared) that the National Hurricane Center will continue to have all the resources it needs to provide vital storm updates, forecasts and alerts”, Duncan says.
Experts had warned that reducing NOAA’s research capabilities, including the potential closure of weather laboratories like the National Severe Storms Laboratory, could compromise the NWS’s ability to accurately and timely track and forecast severe weather events, such as hurricanes and floods.
Duncan says the reversal on the NWS cuts likely stemmed from the realization of the essential role of the NWS to our country’s preparedness for severe weather in the wake of so many severe storm events nationally over the past few weeks and months. Texas forecasters, for example, came under fire last month in the wake of deadly flooding.
The reversal is good news for the entire country and for Central Virginia specifically. “On a regional level, warnings for tropical systems also fall to local NWS offices, and I trust they will continue to provide critical warnings and forecast updates as situations arise over the coming weeks and months of this hurricane season”, Duncan says.
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