VIRGINIA KEY, Fla. – The ability to track the intensity of hurricanes reliably has improved significantly in recent years.
Scientists from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, or AOML - which is located on Virginia Key - has had a lot to do with that progress.
But now, that office is on the verge of being shut down.
Local 10 Hurricane Specialist and Storm Surge Expert Michael Lowry points to the proposed 2026 budget, which was issued by NOAA, that would slash $100 million from the agency.
That cut would stretch all across a dozen or so research labs under NOAA, including AOML.
It would mean hundreds of top scientists would be out of work.
“It’s a concerning thing for those of us who forecast hurricanes to think that we might not have the data that we have become accustomed to using,” said Lowry. “The loss of the data for our forecasts could be potentially catastrophic.”
One of the biggest hits would be the loss of crucial hurricane hunters. They are pilots and scientists who fly planes over significant strong storms to collect crucial data in real time.
Retired hurricane specialist James Franklin recently made a direct prediction of his own.
“I think ultimately, you will end up killing people when people don’t trust the forecast, or you have too many people who have to evacuate, get stuck on the roads,” he said.
There is now a looming test for a vulnerable South Florida as we head deeper into hurricane season.
“They’re the only source that we have to forecast these really dangerous, sometimes life threatening (storms), and sometimes rapid intensification,” said Lowry.