Melissa Kotačka

The defund the National Weather Service replies to this tweet are wrong but not surprising at all. People who are fed bullshit misinformation are the same people who say "the government never gets the weather right.” People don’t realize just how much they rely on the National Weather Service every single day. That weather app on your phone? The forecast on your local news? The severe weather alerts that pop up when a tornado or flash flood is on the way? Almost all of that information comes from the NWS. It’s not just some government agency sitting around making random predictions. It’s a highly specialized, science-driven organization that provides the data that private weather companies, airlines, emergency management agencies, and even your favorite weather app depend on. The NWS operates a network of radar sites, weather balloons, satellites, and ground stations that monitor the atmosphere 24/7. Without it, private companies wouldn’t have the raw data they need to generate forecasts. You think Apple Weather, The Weather Channel, or AccuWeather are doing their own surface and upper-air observations? No, they’re using NWS data. Even if you don’t follow the NWS directly, you are benefiting from its work every single day. And when disaster strikes? The NWS is the first to issue life-saving warnings. Defunding or even reducing funding to the National Weather Service wouldn’t just be an inconvenience. It would be deadly. It would mean slower warnings, outdated technology, fewer weather stations, and a greater reliance on private companies that may not prioritize public safety over profit. It would mean losing the ability to track hurricanes, tornadoes, and winter storms with the level of accuracy and urgency we have today. So the next time you see someone say “Defund the NWS,” remind them that they’d still be checking their phone for a forecast that wouldn’t exist without it. Weather science isn’t perfect, but without the National Weather Service, we’d be flying blind into storms—literally and figuratively. Support science. Support public safety. Stop letting the richest man in the world control our government. And support the people who work tirelessly to keep us informed and prepared.