Push for federal investment into weather monitoring system

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)–Senator Chuck Schumer visited UAlbany on Monday pushing for more federal funding to update weather tracking in New York State.

New York State has had more than 20 tornadoes this month, with 10 happening on the same day back on July 16th. Rome, New York was one of the hardest hit areas and in Canastota, the storm was deadly.

“This is actually turning out to be a record year for tornadoes, but it’s also consistent with more frequent and intense rainfall events,” explained Christopher Thorncroft, Executive Director of the New York State Mesonet.

Located on UAlbany’s campus is the New York State Mesonet, which tracks the weather in every county in the state.

“UAlbany, it’s not just the leading center for New York State, but all of the country,” said U.S. Senator, Chuck Schumer. “A lot of the knowledge done here spreads to other states and other areas, and they use the same types of techniques they developed here.”

The data collected helps alert communities of severe weather events. Schumer announced he’s pushing for $30 million dollars in federal funding for UAlbany’s Mesonet to help make weather tracking more precise.

“We need to know in advance with the best technology available when these storms are coming, how severe they will be, and what we can do to protect ourselves,” said Schumer. “The more you know in advance, the more you can protect yourselves.”

Thorncroft explained what the money could be used for.

“Any additional new funding could help not only replace this high tech that we will need to replace due to longevity, but also allows us to think about where we want to put new stations or new profiling systems to better serve communities in not only in urban environments, but rural environments,” said Throncroft.

For the communities impacted by the recent storms, the state is working on securing federal funding for recovery efforts.

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