Meteorologists say NWS cuts degraded forecasts during recent storms
The National Weather Service’s reduction in weather balloon launches left forecasters on shaky ground last week as the central U.S. got hammered with hail and tornadoes, outside meteorologists told NBC News.
The National Weather Service’s reduction in weather balloon launches left forecasters on shaky ground last week as the central U.S. got hammered with hail and tornadoes, outside meteorologists told NBC News.
Severe storms brought dozens of tornadoes to the central U.S. starting Thursday, snarling Easter weekend travel. Twisters were reported in Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, and the storm system brought several inches of snow to parts of Colorado and baseball-sized hail to Wisconsin.
The storms were one of the first tests of weather forecasts during severe weather since balloon releases were cut back in places like Grand Junction, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, among other sites. Balloon launches are time-intensive tasks, and many local offices were forced to cut back after the Trump administration trimmed the size of NWS by offering early retirements and laying off some probationary workers.
Last Thursday, six tornadoes tracked across eastern Nebraska from just before 7 p.m. until just after 9 p.m. Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist and weather balloon expert, said that the National Weather Service issued the proper tornado alerts at the right time but that additional data available only from balloons could have helped identify the tornado threat sooner.
“The forecasters in the weather service know what to look for on radar and other data to issue the right warnings at the right time, but having additional data that gives an indication of low-level wind shear or moisture helps give you confidence when issuing those warnings,” Vagasky said.
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