Wasserman Schultz, Franklin Lead Bipartisan Effort to Modernize NOAA Hurricane Hunter Fleet

Washington, December 5, 2024
“With increasingly severe hurricane seasons, communities across the nation are relying more than ever on NOAA’s life-saving storm tracking and forecasting capabilities,” said Wasserman Schultz. “By investing in new hurricane hunter aircraft now, we ensure that NOAA can continue to protect lives, property, and entire communities from the growing threats of extreme weather.”

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) and Scott Franklin (FL-18) led 10 of their Florida colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging Congress to include funds to modernize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) hurricane hunter aircraft fleet in any upcoming emergency disaster relief supplemental package. 

“With increasingly severe hurricane seasons, communities across the nation are relying more than ever on NOAA’s life-saving storm tracking and forecasting capabilities,” said Wasserman Schultz. “By investing in new hurricane hunter aircraft now, we ensure that NOAA can continue to protect lives, property, and entire communities from the growing threats of extreme weather.”

“NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet is imperative to delivering real-time data to improve the accuracy of forecasts and inform emergency management efforts,” said Franklin. “During Hurricane Milton, I joined the crew of NOAA 42 and saw firsthand the importance of this live-saving weather tracking technology. Congress must fund the modernization of NOAA’s aging planes to help protect our communities.”

The funding, as requested in the Administration’s recent supplemental request, would enable NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) to complete construction of two new hurricane hunter planes already in progress and acquire a third. This modernization effort is vital to maintaining the nation’s hurricane and extreme weather forecasting capabilities.

NOAA’s current WP-3D Orion hurricane hunter planes, which have served for decades, are set to retire by 2030. Without timely replacements, NOAA’s ability to collect real-time data and improve forecasting during hurricanes, floods, and other extreme weather events will be at serious risk.

The lawmakers emphasized that the modernization effort is essential not only for hurricane readiness but also for improving forecasts for water resource planning, and for predicting fire weather, and drought conditions. Recent hurricanes, including Helene and Milton, underscore the necessity of bolstering NOAA’s capabilities to address escalating weather threats.

Read the entire letter here. 

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