Andy Kim Questions NOAA Nominee on Early Warning Systems and Climate Change

Enhancing Early Warning Systems

• 💔 Andy Kim expressed deep sadness over the Texas flooding tragedy and emphasized the urgency of improving early warning systems.
• 🚨 He questioned Dr. Neil Jacobs about the potential use of sirens for flood warnings, similar to tornado alerts, noting systems in Spain and France that network flow meters to sirens.
• 💡 Dr. Jacobs confirmed that while sirens aren't currently used for floods in the US, even a few seconds or minutes of warning can make a significant difference.

Hydrological Modeling and Data Accuracy

• 🗺️ Kim raised concerns about outdated hydrological modeling and data, particularly in his home state of New Jersey.
• 🛰️ He inquired about investing in LiDAR technology for accurate digital elevation data, which is crucial for optimizing hydrological models.
• 🌐 Dr. Jacobs agreed that a nationwide flood inundation mapping capability is a federal mission, as state-level data can be asymmetrical and insufficient for multi-state events.

Integrated Climate and Flood Forecasting

• 🌊 The discussion highlighted the lack of integrated modeling that combines hurricane forecasting with hydrological data.
• ⛈️ An example of Hurricane Florence illustrated how storm surge and rainfall models need to be coupled to accurately predict flooding impacts, especially when storms linger.

Climate Change Causality

• 🌡️ Kim quoted a statement asserting that human activities, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, are the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century.
• ✅ Dr. Jacobs agreed that human influence is a factor in climate change and extreme weather, acknowledging its role alongside natural signals.
• 🔬 He affirmed the importance of understanding causality in climate change, including ocean temperature warming that affects hurricane strength, to inform decision-making.