Some central Pennsylvania meteorologists say they’re worried about recent federal cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
Rob Lydick is a meteorology professor at Penn State and the executive producer of Weather World, which is a weather and climate show that provides in-depth statewide forecasts.
“I would say, on average, probably better than 80% of the information that we look at day to day when it comes to getting in touch with the weather and then making a forecast about what's to come over the short, medium or long range comes from NOAA and the National Weather Service," Lydick said.
Lydick said the National Weather Service recently reduced the frequency of some weather balloon launches across the country because of material and labor shortages.
Many meteorologists rely on that data, including AccuWeather in State College.
"We have no indication at this time that the changes at NOAA will impact the accuracy of AccuWeather’s forecasts and warnings," said Steven Smith, AccuWeather's chief executive officer in an emailed statement. "We remain committed to providing the highest levels of service to the public, the media, and our clients. We will continue to monitor and assess the situation."
Lydick, with Weather World, said some data gaps can be filled in by other methods, like satellite data.
“But it's one of those things where if this is only the beginning, and especially when it comes to maintaining other pieces of equipment or other technologies… this is concerning," Lydick said.
Many fired probationary employees could get their jobs back because of an ongoing legal challenge. But, Lydick said he’s heard from graduates working at the National Weather Service that a future reduction in force is still on the table.
If that happens, Lydick worries the data informing forecasts could become less reliable, and could affect extreme weather warnings.
