House Science Committee members called for expanding the use of commercial weather data and improving data assimilation at a recent hearing kicking off an effort to update policy for weather research.
The House Science Committee launched an effort to update the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 on March 28, holding the first in a planned series of hearings to collect input. The update is a high priority for Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK), who was a lead author of the 2017 act, the first major update to U.S. weather policy in a quarter-century.
Convened by the Environment Subcommittee, the hearing focused on ways to expand the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s use of commercial weather data, a focus of the earlier law that Lucas identified as an ongoing concern. “As we look to reauthorize the Weather Act, I will push to continue this growth and expand the options and resources NOAA has to incorporate private sources of data into their operational weather models and forecasts,” he said.
The hearing also explored issues an updated law could address, such as making more efficient use of the data NOAA already collects and increasing coordination across all federal agencies with a stake in weather forecasting. Committee members also probed why European forecasters at times outperform their U.S. counterparts.
“Being a farmer, working with livestock, and living in Tornado Alley, the...
WASHINGTON (CN) — President Donald Trump said Friday he would ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, claiming the media outlets had reported “fake news” about him and his administratio...