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Automated Weather Stations

Trump cuts US$3m in funding from New York’s weather tracking system

Elizabeth BakerBy Elizabeth BakerJuly 15, 20257 Mins Read
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The New York skyline is tinted orange with the sun in the background, as the city experiences a heat wave.
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President Trump has canceled a US$3m grant project for New York State’s advanced regional weather early warning systems (EWS) program.

Mesonet program

The University at Albany hosts NYS’s Mesonet program, a network of 127 weather observation stations around New York, with at least one station located in each of New York’s 62 counties, and laser technology to monitor the atmosphere.

The university’s Mesonet program was awarded a US$3m grant program in 2023 to support its Exploitation of Mesonets for Emergency Preparedness and Response in Weather Extremes (EMPOWER) program. The EMPOWER program is a partnership between academia, emergency managers and the federal government. It works to upgrade technology to produce better, more accurate weather hazard impact warning and emergency response capabilities to keep New Yorkers, and the nation, safe.

The University at Albany highlighted that data from the NYS Mesonet informs forecasters and emergency managers (including those at the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services) to help mitigate the harmful effects from high-impact, extreme-weather-related disasters. The NYS Mesonet provides real-time data to operational forecasters and emergency managers from across the state with updates every five minutes and an average station spacing of about 19 miles. These data points are combined with data from other surface networks, weather radars and satellites to provide real-time weather information and to improve numerical weather prediction models for even greater accuracy and precision.

Senator Chuck Schumer’s response

In response, US Senator Chuck Schumer has rejected the cuts and demanded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reverse this decision, which will weaken New York State’s ability to track and monitor extreme weather.

“Cutting funding for New York’s weather tracking system is a recipe for disaster. With a record-breaking tornado season last summer and New York seeing more extreme weather than ever, we can’t afford to rip away resources for the program that tells us when a storm is going to hit and how bad it’s going to be,” said Schumer. “Our state-of-the-art network of weather observation stations gathers real-time hyper-local data that keeps New Yorkers across the state safe and informed. We need to make sure New Yorkers are prepared for whatever punches Mother Nature delivers, to hinder their advancement. I’m calling on Secretary Noem to immediately reverse these cruel, unexplained cuts to keep New Yorkers safe when the next storm comes.”

Schumer said that amid record-breaking extreme weather, including devastating flooding in Texas, sharper forecasts are needed to better understand storms as they develop and approach communities. He warned that without upgrades or with delayed investment in NY’s system, local forecasting ability could be hampered by deferred systems maintenance and decreased federal operations support, impacting both storm prediction and public safety. These are not the first cuts to weather forecasting in NY under the Trump Administration; earlier this year it was revealed that firings and staff reductions at the National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Albany would mean they would not be able to fly all their weather balloons, among other cuts.

In his letter can to DHS Secretary Noem, Schumer wrote,

“Dear Secretary Noem, I write to urge you to swiftly reinstate the US$3m Department of Homeland Security grant supporting the Exploiting Mesonets for Emergency Preparedness and Response to Weather Extremes (EMPOWER) project. DHS Science and Technology Directorate has partnered with the University at Albany (UAlbany) since 2023 to build out a better, more accurate weather hazard impact warning and emergency response capability to keep New Yorkers – and ultimately the nation – safe. Until yesterday, the project focused on extreme weather, such as rapid and severe flooding, similar to what communities in Central Texas are tragically dealing with today, and any funding that is rescinded or stalled could put lives at risk.

“Just last week, you acknowledged in remarks that ‘everybody wants more warning time, and that’s why we’re working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long, to make sure that families have as much advanced notice as possible.’ This project – a regional pilot with the potential to be deployed nationwide – does just that. It has been considered highly successful by DHS S&T, already having significant operational impact. Co-developed with the NY Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (among many other engaged end users), the EMPOWER prototype extreme weather decision support dashboard is currently operational within the New York State Office of Emergency Management Watch Center. Furthermore, the project has brought direct access to high fidelity, real-time weather data covering all of New York State to the FEMA Geospatial Response Office for the first time.

“The New York State Mesonet is a network of 127 weather stations across the state that supplement National Weather Service modeling and observations to provide more accurate and real-time weather information, helping improve forecasts and inform weather alerts. The EMPOWER project utilizes the Mesonet’s real-time data to develop cutting-edge tools designed specifically for emergency managers and first responders. In a world with increasingly frequent and unpredictable severe weather, these new tools will provide our community safety professionals with unparalleled information to make the fastest, most well-informed decisions when disasters strike, helping to alert communities of imminent threats and better protect lives and property.

“The EMPOWER program exemplifies a successful partnership between researchers, higher education, emergency managers and the Federal government. This program has tangible outcomes – emergency alert systems greatly benefit the public and upgrading our technology is necessary to mitigate risk and loss of life when disaster strikes. I cannot underline how important this program is to New York’s emergency response, as well as to the entire nation. As our researchers better develop emergency management technology, we can count on the implementation of this technology across America in the near future to save lives. Not only does the public benefit, but improved emergency warning system technology and data about weather events helps our first responders, who put their lives on the line for their communities, better determine the risk to the area they serve. This US$3m grant is essential to supporting the completion of this vital work.

“In the wake of the devastating flooding in Texas we have a responsibility to do everything we can to mitigate the risks of extreme weather and ensure that tragedies like this never happen again. The federal government should be investing in better technologies to improve hazard impact warning systems and provide emergency managers more timely and accurate information to ensure they can put out emergency alerts and evacuation orders to save lives and take other crucial actions to protect community lifelines. Canceling this grant does exactly the opposite, and stifles emerging tools and technologies that have the potential to save lives.

“I urge you to reinstate the US$3m DHS EMPOWER grant to support the project and its researchers so they can deliver groundbreaking technology to save Americans from avoidable weather-related harm. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. Please do not hesitate to contact my staff if you have any questions.”

In related news, the Trump administration recently proposed reducing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research’s budget (OAR) from US$485m to US$171m. This would end most climate research conducted by the NOAA and cost hundreds of climate experts and NOAA employees their jobs.

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