NY had 23 tornadoes in July. Schumer says more money needed for monitoring weather

Ten tornadoes in one day in upstate New York —and 23 in July — is enough for Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Although the federal government does not have the technology to make the rotational wind storms stop, it should spend more money on more equipment to monitor the weather and to give residents more warning, Schumer, D-NY, said Monday during a press conference in Syracuse.

“What we saw in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley and the North Country this month was like a scene out of the movie ‘Twister’ with a record-setting 20-plus tornadoes,” Schumer said in a statement. “What we’re seeing more and more across the country is increasing extreme weather that we need to be prepared for and that means we need to invest in always upgrading to have the most state-of-the-art weather tracking technology to get early emergency warning and fast hyper local data to be prepared for any storm that comes our way.”

So the senator is pushing for the federal government to increase its funding for weather monitoring by $10 million this year — to $30 million.

He’s also advocating for a more than $100 million increase in the final federal appropriations bill for the large weather satellites program, which operates the satellites that collect data for the National Weather Service and others, he said.

How is weather monitored in New York state?

In New York, the state and the federal Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services provided funding to the University at Albany in 2014 to create the New York State Early Warning Weather Detection System, which includes the Mesonet, 126 stations —at least one in every county— that record weather data such as the temperature, wind speed, solar radiation and snow depth, every five minutes. Some of the stations also record more specialized weather data.

All of that data, combined with data from other monitoring networks, weather radar and satellites give real-time information and help to improve numerical weather prediction models to make forecasts more accurate and precise.

So far, 17 of the Mesonet stations have LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), an advanced laser technology that could spread to more stations with more federal funding.

The Mesonet helps authorities to issue alerts and warnings before extreme weather events and is used in applications for federal disaster aid after an event.

But greater investment would help improve understanding of storms and bring better forecasts, Schumer said. But too little federal support could have a negative impact on storm prediction and public safety, he said.

New York had 10 tornadoes in one day on July 16

National Weather Service damage surveys show that 23 tornadoes touched down in upstate New York in July, including one in Forestport on July 10, and one in Rome, two in Herkimer County and one in Canastota on July 16.

Across the region, there were a total of 10 tornadoes on July 16, with the rest in Fulton, Hamilton, Warren and Saratoga counties. There were also six more tornadoes on July 10 (Chautauqua, Erie, Wayne, Oswego and Genesee counties); four on July 15 (Chenango, Cortland, Genesee and Ontario counties) and one on July 24 in Oswego County.

“For many Romans, the EF-2 tornado that devastated our community earlier this month is the worst weather event of their lifetime,” Rome Mayor Jeffery Lanigan said in a statement. “The storm damaged 370 plus homes and dozens of businesses, as well as local landmarks like Rome Capitol Theater, the iconic Peter Gansevoort mural, First Presbyterian, and more.

“Our community is nothing if not resilient, and if there is any silver lining to be found after this tragedy it’s the inspiring way that families, friends, and neighbors have united in support of each other to rebuild the city we all love.”

But repairing the damage will cost at least tens of millions of dollars, a number that grows every day, and the city needs support from the state and the federal government, he said. He thanked Schumer for also supporting Rome as it tries to get aid from federal agencies.

Project 2025 calls for funding cuts for NOAA

Schumer’s push for more funding for weather monitoring and prediction comes as Project 2025, which calls itself a transitional plan for a conservative presidency starting in 2025, is calling for the breaking up and downsizing of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The project’s plan also includes the commercialization of the National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA.

The group’s 879-page plan criticizes NOAA as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry,” which makes it “harmful to future U.S. prosperity.”

More: Rome's cleanup effort progress a week after devastating tornado. See photos

More: Lee Center had a tornado, too: Just how many tornadoes struck on July 16?

Schumer expressed concern at the prospect of finding crucial weather data behind a paywall.

“As climate change creates the conditions for more extreme weather that devastates communities, as we’ve seen in Rome and across upstate New York, we need to be giving our nation’s weather observation system more support—not less,” he said in the statement. “You don’t need to be a weatherman to forecast that cutting these services would cause major problems for Upstate NY-ers who rely on real-time, accurate weather data for storms.”

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: NY had 23 tornadoes in July. Schumer says more money needed for monitoring weather