4/21/2025

N. WISCONSIN - Cuts by the Trump administration of funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may have a serious impact on climate, weather and water related research in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. Cuts of more than 25% of NOAA’s budget would mean funding for research would drop by almost 65%. Michael C. Morgan, former assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction at NOAA until this year and atmospheric and oceanic sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has said the cuts would affect the the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies housed within the university’s Space Science and Engineering Center, which translates satellite data in weather observations used to predict severe weather in the state and nationwide, including NOAA’s Hurrican Research Division. The effects at the state level would be devastating, affecting everything from real-time data collection and observation of the Great Lakes to tracking groundwater quality affected by chemicals used in manufacturing.