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.