Wide-Ranging Impacts If Funding Is Cut To NOAA

On Friday, the meteorology community was riding a major high as stunningly high-definition images came in from the nation’s newest and much-anticipated earth observation satellite. The high came crashing down that evening, though, as the first hints of significant cuts to the budget of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began to emerge. NOAA oversees weather forecasting and is a major funder of weather and climate research. If these cuts materialize, they could significantly hamper improvements in weather forecasting and climate modeling and put the public at risk, experts warned.