Will the Key Weather and Climate Facility in the United State be Sold Off?

 There are many media stories circulating today stating that the key U.S. weather and climate facility in the U.S. is going to be sold off:  The NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction.

This location houses many of the key groups overseeing U.S. weather and climate prediction.  I have attended meetings in the facility or met with NOAA/NWS scientists there literally dozens of times.

Selling off this building and dispersing the groups housed there would be a death blow to US environmental prediction capabilities.

The question: Is there any truth to this?  Certainly, this story has been distributed through dozens of major and minor media outlets.   But as you know from my previous blogs, I am not a little cynical about the "facts" found in many media outlets--so let's check it out.

This story originated from two sources.  One is a story in Axios (see below).

The second was in The Verge, a technology website.

Neither of these websites can point to any official statement or documents to support these claims, just unnamed "sources."

I went to governmental websites, such as the DOGE lease cancelation list (see below).  No mention of the NOAA Prediction Center. None.

Checked the GSA website.  The NOAA facility is not on it.

The NOAA Prediction Center was a custom-built building designed for the important role it is now playing.  To sell it off would be a catastrophic error, with profound impacts on weather and climate prediction in the U.S.

There is no sign of any official intent to sell the building, and I suspect the stories noted above are not correct.

NOAA plays a crucial role in collecting weather and climate data,  ocean and atmospheric research, and predicting weather and ocean conditions.   Although essential, NOAA needs reform, particularly in dealing with an ineffective bureaucracy and loss of innovation.

When will DOGE and the new administration talk to the atmospheric and ocean community to learn about these problems and how to correct them?

With reform and rational change, U.S. weather and environmental prediction could be substantially improved.

A Very Wet California

 If you are wondering where much of our precipitation will be headed, look to the south.  California is going to be very wet during the next week or so.

Below is the predicted total precipitation through March 18, using the European Center model.  As much as 12 inches over portions of Northern CA.    Even LA gets fairly wet.

Seattle will be drier than LA...think about that.

Why is this happening?  

Because one after another, upper-level troughs of low pressure will plunge southward into California, leaving Washington State relatively high and dry.  Troughs are associated with upward motion and precipitation.

Let me show you a series of upper-level charts that present the heights of the 500 hPa pressure surface.  You can think of this as the pressure around 18,000 ft.  Blue and white colors indicate below-normal pressures...or troughs.

At 4 AM this morning, a trough was over southern CA.

Three days later (Thursday at 4 AM), another trough is over California.

Sunday night at 11 PM, ANOTHER trough is digging down over California.

Next Thursday morning at 11 AM, another trough is pushing into California.

You won't believe this.. on Friday night, one more trough moves into California.

This kind of pattern has dominated much of this winter.

Why?  As far as I know, there is no clear answer, but something is forcing this persistent troughing over the Golden State.

With all the troughing action over CA, reservoir levels are quite high throughout the state.   

But there is a major concern.  Substantial late winter precipitation leads to bountiful growth of chaparral vegetation, which can enhance the potential for wildfire later in the year.   The past few years have had wet winters, which contributed to the huge fires around Los Angeles.