14 hours ago
Florida Could Be Flying Blind This Hurricane Season
As the US heads into the June-to-November Atlantic hurricane season, many of the tools weather forecasters rely on to assess risk and warn the public have been weakened or all but dismantled by the Trump administration's scorched-earth campaign to cut government services. Coastal states are going to feel the brunt of the impact.
The deep cuts to the programs that supply data for the forecasts mean that meteorologists will be left 'flying a plane in the clouds with no navigation system,' said Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and a storm surge expert for WPLG in Miami. Operating without accurate data can be quite costly: According to an estimate from the Global Commission on Adaptation, a 24-hour warning of an impending storm can reduce damage by 30%.
