This week Illinois State Climatologist Dr. Trent Ford has been highlighting some possibilities of what federal funding cuts to weather services may look like.
Today, Ford shares the effects those cuts could have for local weather forecasters.
On top of government funding, local weather forecasters also face uncertainty from their local stations, such as the possibility of weather hubs, as opposed to the current model of forecasters and meteorologists delivering their predictions and information from their local affiliates.
Ford thinks it's the hazardous weather that people will have the most concern over. While he says a centralized hub may be able to predict a weather event like heavy rainfall across a defined region, local forecasters can pinpoint specific areas of concerns such as area streams, lakes, rivers and watersheds.
According to Ford, "It's that local knowledge that is critical to translate the general prediction of heavy rain into actionable information."
Ford says that a possibility of centralizing predictions is that the communication process will likely suffer. He also states, "From my experience, having that local knowledge is absolutely critical for the actual actionable part of weather prediction."
For Dr. Fords full take on local weather forecasting, listen in the link above.
