Ted Cruz Questions NOAA Nominee on Weather Modeling and Illegal Fishing

Improving Emergency Weather Warnings

• 💡 Dr. Jacobs, nominee to lead NOAA, discussed the need to improve emergency weather warnings, especially for alerts issued overnight.
• 📡 He proposed advancements in communication methods, moving beyond copper wire to telecom and satellite for message delivery.
• ⚠️ A key priority is modernizing NOAA Weather Radio, which he credits with saving his life during a tornado alert in 1996.
• 📊 Post-storm assessments could be enhanced by adopting a system similar to the NTSB's for weather disasters to analyze what went right and wrong.

Enhancing Weather Forecasting Models

• 🎯 To address European models outperforming US models, Dr. Jacobs and Mr. Jordan highlighted the need for better observations and data assimilation.
• 💻 A significant proposed improvement is migrating NOAA's weather forecasting software (AWHIPS) to the cloud.
• 🚀 This cloud transition would allow forecasters to upload code instead of downloading data, enabling remote access and faster processing.
• 🤝 Cloud computing would also facilitate embedding forecasters directly within emergency operations centers during crises.

Combating Illegal Fishing

• 🎣 Senator Cruz raised concerns about illegal Mexican fishing of Texas red snapper, often funded by drug cartels.
• 🚢 Dr. Jacobs stated that combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a top priority.
• 🛰️ He suggested using satellite tracking to monitor boats that turn off transponders.
• 🦐 Beefing up the seafood inspection and monitoring program was also proposed, including verifying the origins of aquaculture products like shrimp, which are often mislabeled.