We live in our bubbles, and my bubble is impacted by NOAA every day. My private company (Praedictix) depends on raw weather data from NOAA sources, including 159 Doppler radar sites, 18 weather satellites, 92 weather-balloon launch sites and 9,000 weather monitoring stations nationwide. Scores of weather models are powered by NOAA, including specialty models for hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. In a time of increasing severe weather, the death toll has come down dramatically since the 1930s. Thanks to the National Weather Service, new technology and local meteorologists are working together.
County-level warnings aren’t automated; they are issued by seasoned NWS meteorologists because the most accurate forecasts are a mix of man and machine. The United States sees more severe weather than any nation on Earth. Call me crazy, but big layoffs seem like a bad idea.
A snowstorm tracks just south/east of Minnesota next week with 40s for highs the next 10 days. Thank you, National Weather Service, for keeping us safe.
