Mass layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could come with potentially devastating impacts to U.S. forecasting abilities, including data and modeling that’s used for life-saving communications during severe weather events.
On Monday, reports citing former agency officials said the White House was preparing to cancel leases for key forecasting offices, including the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction and a radar development lab in Oklahoma. The center provides seasonal outlooks and forecasting, producing information for the National Weather Service, the U.S. Navy, the Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to The Verge. Its Environmental Modeling Center ensures that accurate weather data is used in the models that run day-to-day forecasting, Axios noted.
