In the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape federal agencies, the nation’s weather services have become collateral damage. The budget reductions aim to reduce the program’s lifecycle costs from $19.6 billion to $13 billion. These budget cuts to weather satellites and other services have raised concerns about future forecasting.
These budget cuts affect more than the daily weather app; severe weather warnings and other information that communities rely on to prepare for hurricanes and other natural occurrences are projected to be affected.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, oversees these forecasts and has been affected by these budget cuts. The NOAA workforce, which supports forecasting, research, and technical operations has been greatly reduced.
Autumn Dancy, a graduate of Florida A&M University’s School of the Environment, is among the professional meteorologists who see how vital these systems are in our everyday life and during critical conditions. As a current weather anchor for ABC Gainesville, Dancy says forecasting is at its best when both the technology and personnel are adequate.
“Many might not realize that the computers that run the weather data need to be operated by humans,” Dancy said. “There’s money needed there for tech parts and for the tech experts. Without sufficient funding and personnel, the process of delivering information could be affected.
Kaylah Nix, a graduate of FAMU’s School of Business and Industry, is among those who have noticed a change in the quality of weather forecast quality and is increasingly concerned.
“Not only has it been hard to plan my travel, it’s getting harder to keep track of how the seasons are changing due to climate change,” Nix said. “It’s been throwing off my entire fall.”
Another SBI graduate, Chailyn Washington-Thompson, says that, day-to-day, she hasn’t noticed many problems, but she was extremely worried when the news broke.
“I was really frustrated that even the weather was on the chopping block,” Washington-Thompson said. “I don’t understand why the government is cutting budgets to essential programs just to funnel the money to less needed programs.”
Dancy says the best thing communities can do in the wake of these budget cuts is to support local news.
“I know it is tempting to resort to the iPhone weather app, but trust me, meteorologists who live in your area are studying the atmospheric conditions in your area and understand how best to communicate that to you in a way that an AI model cannot.”
