Latest news with #weatherforecasting
CNN
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Key senator makes bipartisan plea to Trump to invest in weather and early warning networks
A prominent senator is calling on President Donald Trump to reverse course on his proposal to slash the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, making a case for America to be a world leader in the weather forecasting space instead. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and the ranking member of the Senate commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is advocating that the administration work with Congress to pursue bipartisan investments and outlined her plans in a letter addressed to Trump sent Monday. The letter spells out five recommendations to improve America's weather forecasting infrastructure, such as collecting far more observations and modernizing alert systems. The letter comes in the wake of devastating flash floods in Texas on the night of July 4 that killed more than 130 people. It also is being sent at a time when the Trump administration has reduced staffing at the National Weather Service and proposed even more significant cuts, such as eliminating NOAA's research arm and shutting down its many research centers. These labs contribute to forecast, technology and warning improvements. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. All told, the Trump White House's budget proposal would shave off about $1.7 billion from the NOAA budget, about a 27% cut from current levels. Cantwell does not push back against the cuts in the letter but rather pitches an investment plan to try to appeal to the administration's desire to make America the leading nation again in many areas. 'We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the world's best weather forecasting system that would provide Americans with much more detailed and customized alerts days instead of minutes ahead of a looming extreme weather event,' Cantwell wrote. A noteworthy omission from the letter is any reference to climate change and the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events. The administration has taken a host of actions to rollback climate regulations and stifle climate science research at multiple agencies. The Texas floods have raised questions about NWS readiness for extreme weather events in the wake of staff cuts. The agency is scrambling to hire about 150 forecasters to fill the most critical gaps left by layoffs, early retirements and other incentives the Trump administration offered people to leave government service. Even with 150 new hires, who will take time to train, the NWS will still be more thinly staffed than at the start of the Trump administration. Prev Next The letter endorses next generation weather satellites, radars and new hurricane hunter aircraft to replace the current aging fleet, along with computing capabilities to catch up with, and eventually pass, the superior accuracy of European forecast centers. It also puts an emphasis on modernizing weather alert systems — a key topic in the wake of the disaster in Texas. Notably, it also endorses putting more money, not less, into 'basic and applied research.' Cantwell is in step with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Senate Commerce Committee, who rejected most of the administration's proposed cuts in an initial fiscal year 2026 spending bill. House appropriators did the same, although the Trump administration has indicated it may seek other ways to restrict funding for agencies such as NOAA. 'Americans should have the best weather system. Why not?' Cantwell said on CNN this morning.
Fox News
20-07-2025
- Climate
- Fox News
When The Storm Breaks: A Meteorologist's Story From The Frontlines
The floods that devastated the Texas Hill Country on July 4th continue to haunt the grieving community as they rebuild after the storm. Chief meteorologist at WOAI News4 Chris Suchan joins Janice to share in-depth insights on the weather forecasting leading up to the floods, the irreversible impact it's had on the community and the personal toll the tragedy has taken on him. Later, they explore ways to improve emergency alarm systems and preventive measures to better protect lives in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Forbes
15-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Let's Talk About AI And Weather Forecasting
The combination of AI, advanced forecasting and high performance computing can identify tropical ... More storm disturbances before they form. this is just one of many AI pointing to a new era of weather forecasting. Recently NIVIDIA announced its latest generative AI model, "Climate in a Bottle,' that simulates Earth's global climate with an unprecedented level of resolution. The news closely followed Microsoft's Aurora announcement, an AI foundation model that promises to revolutionize not just weather forecasting but environmental prediction broadly. These announcements are just a few of many over the past year, announcing groundbreaking AI and weather modeling and pointing to a new era of weather forecasting. As a meteorologist who works with customers in multiple industries, I see infinite possibilities for the beneficial application of AI across organizations, supply chain dependencies and public safety. I also hear the murmurs of how AI will replace human forecasting. With so many conversations around AI and weather, I want to weigh in what I believe AI means for our profession and the future of weather forecasting. The AI Weather Buzz Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and NVIDIA are pouring massive resources into weather AI models, each claiming breakthrough capabilities. Google's GraphCast made headlines for outperforming traditional forecasting systems. Microsoft's Aurora model promises to revolutionize not just weather prediction but environmental forecasting broadly. Meanwhile, NVIDIA launched Earth-2, a digital twin platform simulating weather and climate conditions in unprecedented detail. This year the company that I work for launched the DTN Hurricane Threat Index. It is a model that uses AI to assess multiple hurricane hazards beyond wind speed to include storm surge, rainfall, flooding, and tornadic activity. This provides a more complete picture of storm threats up to seven days before landfall for all areas of impact. These announcements have created both excitement and conversations throughout the meteorological community. Will these powerful new tools transform weather prediction as we know it? Will these improve the role of meteorologists? Or, will they render human forecasters obsolete? Yes, to the first two questions. No, to the third, which I'll explain more below. AI And Human Processing AI has been outperforming humans in raw weather prediction for decades. Weather science embraced computational power long before most industries even understood its potential. Why? Because weather is the original big data challenge. Back in 1922, Lewis Fry Richardson developed the first numerical weather prediction system. His calculations were so complex that he envisioned a "forecast-factory" with 64,000 people using mechanical calculators to process a single eight-hour forecast. A task that would take six weeks to complete. By the late 1900s, computers had taken over these calculations entirely. Today AI forecasting models can calculate hundreds of weather variables over ten days at granular resolution globally, in under one minute, a task that would typically take hours on a supercomputer. AI and Forecasting Despite impressive advances, current AI weather models have limitations. They can only make deterministic forecasts, not probabilistic ones with ranges of possibilities. However, since the models run so quickly, they can be used to create ensembles, or large numbers of concurrent forecasts. Meteorologists use ensemble data to help determine probabilities and confidence in the forecast. A recent study from the University of California demonstrated that current AI fails at forecasting 'freak events' beyond the scope of existing training data. However, because this landscape is evolving so quickly, I'm sure the processing and data will get better over time. I expect in the next decade we will see another technological leap in forecasting with quantum computing and physics-informed neural networks. PINNS is a hybrid approach that combines the efficiency and pattern-recognition capabilities of deep learning with traditional physics-based models, such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. PINNs are already used for specific applications, but full operational deployment holds transformational capabilities. AI and Operation-Specific Weather Insights An exciting area where I see AI making a difference today is the integration of weather data and industry-specific data streams. This would not have been computationally possible 20 years ago and certainly not in the context of machine learning and predictive analytics. Logistics companies are a prime example of embracing these capabilities. For example, Amazon's inventory management system incorporates seasonal weather forecasts to pre-position products and customize delivery commitments based on real-time weather data. Similarly other logistics companies uses weather for delay management and routing management. Utilities are also in a better position to respond to extreme weather by integrating weather data into their own operational data, such as service areas, infrastructure, and crew capacity. Outage predictions using AI modeling have shown the probability of outages to specific areas as early as a week ahead of impact. A DTN analysis showed this could reduce outage durations by as much as 50% and more effectively size and stage response crews. AI and Meteorologists Awhile back a friend shared the 2023 Gartner's video on the prediction about AI's impact on jobs. Out of 13 categories, weather prediction was the only one where AI outperformed humans today, and that was in 2023. My friend's reaction was typical. AI would eventually eliminate meteorologists altogether. But that conclusion misses the mark completely. Rather than replacing meteorologists, AI is transforming our role. Meteorologists are now freed from computational drudgery to focus on what humans do best: interpreting model outputs, applying local knowledge, and communicating weather impacts to decision-makers. AI excels at pattern recognition and processing vast amounts of data, but meteorologists excel at understanding the "so what" behind the forecast. We translate complex atmospheric science into actionable insights, especially in marginal weather scenarios where a stop, continue or pause decision can make the difference in safety or profit. Paradoxically, as we are discovering more about how AI can improve forecasting, I increasingly hear customers ask for a 'human in the loop' or meteorologist to interpret and advise on the forecasts. One of the most common remarks is, 'I see the data and I read the forecast, but I am not a meteorologist. The stakes are high, and I want to consult with an expert that understands my business.' As a meteorologist, I'm not worried about AI taking my job. I'm excited about how it's making me better at my job and how it is going to improve weather decision-making, planning and responding. The science of meteorology has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, AI and weather is just another evolution of how we help the public, emergency responders and businesses be more weather resilient.
TechCrunch
14-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Rainmaker partners with Atmo to squeeze more rain from clouds
Cloud seeding startup Rainmaker is partnering with Atmo, an AI-powered meteorology startup, the companies exclusively told TechCrunch. The two operate on complementary ends of the weather system: Atmo studies atmospheric patterns to forecast weather events, while Rainmaker digests such data in an attempt to squeeze more precipitation out of weather systems. Under the partnership, Atmo will use its deep learning models to help Rainmaker identify clouds that have potential for seeding. The forecasting startup will also offer Rainmaker's cloud seeding services, deployed via small drones, to its customers. For its part, Rainmaker will contribute data from its proprietary radar system to determine how much rain the clouds produced. Rainmaker has been in the news of late, targeted by conspiracy theorists who claim that the startup's cloud seeding operations in Texas played a role in recent floods in the state. But according to several scientists TechCrunch spoke with, that's simply not possible. 'Somebody is looking for somebody to blame,' Bob Rauber, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois, told TechCrunch last week. Techcrunch event Save up to $475 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $450 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Though cloud seeding can nudge clouds to drop more precipitation, it's a small amount compared with the size of a storm. One well-documented case in Idaho released an additional 186 million gallons of precipitation, which pales in comparison with the 'trillions of gallons of water' a large storm will process, Rauber said. Cloud seeding is widely used throughout the Western United States, mostly to augment snowpack and boost the amount of water that ends up in reservoirs in the summer. While it's also used in places like West Texas to coax more rain from summer storms, the results have been modest. The West Texas Weather Modification Association, which Rainmaker has worked with previously, says that cloud seeding in the region has boosted precipitation by about 15%, or about two inches, per year. The likely reason for that is because the types of clouds floating over West Texas don't respond in the same way as clouds in mountainous regions like the Western U.S., Rauber said. Rainstorms are even less responsive, he added, since they're already primed to drop plenty of precipitation.
BreakingNews.ie
14-07-2025
- Climate
- BreakingNews.ie
RTÉ launches redesigned weather forecasts
RTÉ has announced a long overdue upgrade to its weather forecasting with the launch of a new graphics system and on-screen presentation. The visual overhaul of the broadcaster's weather reports is the first in over eight years. Advertisement From Monday viewers will see a 3D map of Ireland with enhanced topography that allows them to see mountains, valleys and coastlines more clearly. Local towns and regions will now be individually highlighted, making it easier for people to see tailored forecasts for where they live. Severe weather warnings will appear in bold, high-contrast formats for greater impact, and animations will now show forecasts over time – such as rainfall moving across the country or temperatures rising through the week – making it easier to understand how conditions are expected to change. The new system comes after a heatwave in Ireland, with the highest temperature of the year so far recorded on Saturday. Advertisement David Timpson, manager of RTÉ Weather, said: 'Weather is more than temperature and rainfall — it's about planning, protection, public trust and safety. This new system allows us to produce clearer, more engaging content across multiple platforms, using the most reliable data from our partners at Met Éireann, while staying true to our editorial purpose. 'With graphics and capabilities that are now best-in-class internationally, we're proud to bring Irish audiences a weather service that rivals leading broadcasters around the world.' Gerry Murphy, Met Éireann's television meteorologist team lead, said: 'Our collaboration with RTÉ is rooted in public service. Clear communication of weather information is an essential part of this service. With this new weather graphics system, our data and expert analyses can be visualised with greater clarity than ever before. 'Our goal is to fully exploit this system to ensure that viewers have a clear understanding of upcoming weather and can prepare with confidence for weather impacts'.
