Road Closure in Johnson City This Week
N. Harrison Street between Miller Street and Fairfax Street will be closed from Monday to Friday between 6a.m. to 5p.m. daily due to a sewer line repair.
It is best to seek alternate routes and plan travel accordingly.
Road Closure in Johnson City This Week
Showers and storms return this evening with excessive rainfall concerns
Lockheed Martin secures $9.5 million deal with U.S. Navy
'Familiar Places and Spaces' showcases Broome County's beauty
Port Dickinson Elementary opens Outdoor Learning Center
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UPI
31-07-2025
- UPI
Defense Department opts to not end satellite data for storm forecasts
An infrared satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean shows Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 6, 2019, as a Category 2 hurricane. U.S. Navy photo via Naval Research Laboratory July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department won't end the dispersal of key satellite weather data on Friday as planned. One month ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a notice about the change by the U.S. Navy, effective July 1. Then NOAA said the change would be delayed by one month until Thursday. In an update posted Wednesday, the phase-out plans were pushed back one year. "The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to continue distribution of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data beyond July 31, 2025," the update said. "As a result, there will be no interruption to DMSP data delivery." With the peak hurricane season underway, forecasters with the National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, media outlets, private meteorologists and weather watchers had expressed concern about not getting the satellite imagery. "Crisis averted," Michael Lowry, a meteorologist at the Storm Surge Unit of the National Hurricane Center, posted on Blue Sky, noting it "means our hurricane forecast tools should stay intact." A U.S. Space Force spokesperson said in a statement that the satellites and instruments are functional and that the Department of Defense will continue to use them. A U.N. Navy official told ABC News that plans were to "phase out the data as part of the Defense Department modernization effort," but pushed it back after feedback and a "way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026." For 40 years, the Pentagon has operated satellites for atmospheric and ocean conditions. Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder Sensors onboard three DMSP satellites will be turned off. The satellites gather multiple wavelengths of light, including visible, infrared and microwave, Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona, told Scientific American. Microwaves are used to monitor hurricanes, Wood said, "because the waves are so long they get through the tops of the clouds" and help scientists to understand a storm's inner workings, especially those that occur at night. With the real-time data, hurricane experts can see where the center of a storm forms, and hence figure out the direction where it could be headed, including land. They can see when a new eyewall forms, which helps determine intensity. That was done with Hurricane Erick earlier this month in the Pacific Ocean. The Navy uses data to track conditions for its ships. "It's not an issue of funding cuts," Mark Serreze, the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a federally funded research center in Colorado, told NPR. "There are cybersecurity concerns. That's what we're being told." Nevertheless, the Trump administration has been making cuts to the federal agencies with dealing with weather. The National Hurricane Center, which is overseen by NOAA, didn't expect less-accurate forecasts. "NOAA's data sources are fully capable of providing a complete suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard weather forecasting the American people deserve," NOAA communications director Kim Doster told NPR. NOAA and NASA also operate satellites that are used for forecasts. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 with six so far named in the Pacific and three so far in the Atlantic.
San Francisco Chronicle
30-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘We dodged a bullet': How the tsunami played out across the Pacific
Tsunami sirens blared from seaside Japan to the Northern California coast on Tuesday night after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rattled far-east Russia and sent powerful walls of waves barreling across the Pacific Ocean. Fishing vessels fled harbors where swirling currents threatened to wreck boats on docks. People escaping to higher ground clogged roads in Hawaii. California officials patrolled closed beaches to keep people away. The waves finally rose up from the ocean's depths and swept into harbors and beaches — peaking just after nightfall Tuesday in Hawaii and before dawn Wednesday in California. While the swirling surges caused some flooding and damage, it was far less than feared. 'We dodged a bullet,' State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said at a press briefing. He urged people to remain cautious along the coast even though the greatest threat had passed. Russia's remote, far-east Kamchatka Peninsula sustained significant damage from what appears to be one of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded, including the collapse of a kindergarten building. One hospital patient leapt from a window during the shaking, according to the Associated Press. The earthquake triggered tsunamis that threatened a huge portion of the planet exposed to the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis, which can grow from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or underwater landslides, are not just one wave but a series of waves that pulse out from the epicenter and can continue surging outward for hours or even days. Within the United States, the largest waves hit Hawaii, where widespread warnings had sent residents and visitors to higher ground; Oprah Winfrey opened her private road in Maui to help residents evacuate. The U.S. Navy secured its ships at Pearl Harbor. The biggest waves, exceeding 5 feet, hit Kahului on Maui, with waves of at least 4 feet in Hilo on the Big Island and Haleiwa on Oahu. Across California, sloppy waves rocked boats and washed over beaches. The National Weather Service recorded that waves hit 4 feet in Crescent City, 3 feet in Arena Cove, 2.6 feet in Point Reyes and 1.2 feet in San Francisco. Sometimes the waves were propelled atop high tides, increasing their power. In Crescent City, an important fishing hub where underwater geology creates a unique vulnerability to tsunamis, surging waves tested its rebuilt harbor. The harbor was destroyed in 2011 by a tsunami triggered by a disastrous earthquake in Japan. On Wednesday morning, city officials reported that one dock was destroyed, but that was by design. Eric Wier, city manager of Crescent City, said this week's tsunami had the potential to deliver as much destructive power as that in 2011, and he believed the new underwater pilings absorbed some of the impact and prevented further damage. By mid-morning Wednesday, officials had lifted evacuation warnings across much of the Pacific Rim, though advisories urging caution remained for some areas of California, Hawaii and Oregon. On Wednesday afternoon, Wier said the Del Norte County coast was still experiencing 'dramatic fluctuations in ocean levels.' He said the tsunami brought 4 feet of water on top of a 4-foot tide, turning harbor waters into a dangerous sloshing bathtub with strong, swirling currents. Matthew Kidwell, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Eureka, said Wednesday morning that tsunami waves could continue well into Thursday.
USA Today
11-07-2025
- USA Today
Dangerous weather predictions will get tougher after these Trump administration actions
The decision by the Department of Defense to stop providing data to NOAA is just the latest challenge for the agency this year. The heart-wrenching July 4 flooding in Texas served as a stark reminder of the importance of accurate and timely weather forecasts. Those forecasts were well done, more than a half-dozen meteorologists said, but as extreme rainfall events grow more intense, such tragedies are expected to increase. Further improvement to forecasts is critical, but the meteorologists worry that with the additional cuts planned by the Trump administration, the nation's weather and climate research programs won't be able to keep up. The latest blow was the announcement by the U.S. Navy that it would no longer transmit data from the aging satellites past June 30, roughly 15 months earlier than expected. Later, the department extended the deadline to July 31. Without those satellite images, hurricane forecast accuracy could be compromised, say current and former scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Polar researchers, who use the images to measure the extent of sea ice, hope to acquire the same data through a Japanese government satellite instead. In any other year, the satellite snafu might not have gathered much attention. But this summer, it exacerbates mounting concerns about the accuracy of weather prediction, amidst contract cancellations, staff reductions and other Trump administration efforts to reduce the federal bureaucracy. 'You can't keep taking tools away from people and expect them to get the same result," said Andy Hazelton, a hurricane scientist at the University of Miami. Hazelton had been hired as a NOAA scientist last October and was dismissed in the Trump administration's widespread agency layoffs. "Taking away any one tool isn't going to suddenly take away the ability to forecast hurricanes," Hazelton said. 'But as they start to add up, it becomes more and more of a problem.' USA TODAY interviewed more than a dozen industry veterans, including a half-dozen former NOAA scientists, as well as independent researchers, who all fear that forecasts for hurricanes and other extreme weather events may become less accurate and that efforts to monitor the warming climate could be disrupted. The flash flood deaths in Texas on Independence Day weekend are not being blamed on poor forecasts, but weather scientists say the tragedy is emblematic of what can happen when forecasts become less cite several concerning developments, including: ◾ Hundreds of probationary employees were laid off and incentive packages sent hundreds more to early retirement, creating staffing shortages. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently told Congress there's a plan to hire more than 100 people to fill vacancies in the National Weather Service, but as of July 9, no such jobs had been posted on ◾Contracts have been canceled or caught up in a bottleneck by the new requirement that large agreements must be individually reviewed by a political appointee. For example, a fleet of autonomous ocean-going drones called Saildrones, which helped gather data used in hurricane forecasts, was not deployed this summer after a contracting issue. ◾Short-staffed weather forecast offices limited weather balloon launches. The balloons provide essential atmospheric data used in models that help predict hurricane movement, such as the balloon in Del Rio, Texas, that warned forecasters of the potential for heavy rain in Texas in early July. ◾Organizers at two conferences for emergency managers and local officials that traditionally feature keynote speeches and training by National Hurricane Center scientists had to scramble when the staffers weren't allowed to attend. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on a list of questions related to this year's developments. NOAA responded to the questions with a brief statement about the National Hurricane Center, saying it is 'dedicated to its mission, and our dialogue with partners continues and remains unchanged.' Climate programs cut back or stopped The Texas flooding underscores the well-documented evidence of how a warmer Gulf increases the magnitude of rain that falls in the most extreme storms. However, efforts to document and explain the changing climate are being restricted by the Trump administration. The website for the program that has overseen the writing of the Congressionally mandated National Climate Assessments every few years for decades vanished with no explanation. The project has been co-managed by NOAA, NASA and other agencies. Rebecca Lindsay, science writer and former editor of and other former NOAA employees said staff members have been told verbally to avoid using the word 'climate" and use 'environmental change' instead, but they weren't sure if that was to keep them out of trouble with political appointees or at the direction of political appointees. Hundreds of volunteer scientists who had begun working with federal agencies to complete the next climate assessment were dismissed. The preexisting reports are being moved to the NASA website, but there's no date set for that yet, according to an email from the agency. Additionally, a science website that explained climate patterns and research, with roughly a million page views a month this year, according to its former staff, was shut down and redirected to NOAA's main climate page. The staff, housed in the climate office, was dismissed. NOAA was also directed to review and analyze the purpose and traffic of its public websites on a spreadsheet dubbed 'OMB Low Hanging Fruit,' a copy of which was provided to USA TODAY. The White House proposed reducing the NOAA budget by 30% and eliminating its Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which would mean closing its research laboratories and cooperative institutes with universities. Some say US reputation at stake Industry veterans say the resulting chaos, combined with similar actions at other agencies, is tarnishing the nation's reputation as a global scientific leader. 'We're in uncharted territory,' said Michael Mann, a climate scientist, geophysicist and director of the Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. 'I hear it constantly from my colleagues outside the U.S. They're shocked, they're horrified. They can't believe it.' Countries around the world have often looked to the United States for leadership on science, and now, the United States 'is going to be left behind," Mann said. "China, Europe, Australia and countries looking to lead are recognizing this opportunity and they're reaching out to scientists in the U.S. and offering them very attractive positions." He compared the situation to a runner tripping out of the gate in a 400-meter race. 'You're going to lose the race,' he said. Many of the actions at NOAA follow recommendations from Project 2025, a report by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank. It laid the framework for a conservative overhaul of the federal government and suggested NOAA's science was politicized and causing climate change alarm. Several of its authors had previously, or are now, working in President Donald Trump 's administration. Scientists who spoke with USA TODAY freely volunteer that the agency isn't perfect and could make improvements. But they say the current direction will cost taxpayers billions and risk lives when hurricane forecasts are inaccurate and the nation fails to adapt to changes in temperature and sea levels that have already made some extreme weather events more intense. The growing reports that NOAA and the weather service are being degraded by understaffing and budget cuts have alarmed some members of Congress, who raised the issues during recent Capitol Hill briefings. Senators from both sides of the aisle raised the issue during a July 9 confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, who has been nominated as NOAA administrator. More than a week before the floods, U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, an Illinois Democrat and the only meteorologist in Congress, and Rep. Nathaniel Moran, a Texas Republican, co-sponsored legislation to require an urgent study to get 'a better picture of the state of our current weather forecasting abilities across the country.' 'Having access to accurate and reliable weather forecasting is critically important for everyone," Sorensen said, "whether you're a farmer trying to plant your harvest or a family determining if you need to shelter in place for a tornado."
