A bipartisan group of senators is seeking to triple the size of the hurricane hunter fleet. The three large, aging aircraft were used to fly directly into hurricanes and tropical cyclones to measure their strength.
A bipartisan Senate bill to be introduced Wednesday would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $2.5 billion to buy new aircraft and an additional $45 million a year to hire more specialized pilots to fly the planes.
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The bill, first shared with CNN, would codify NOAA’s aircraft reconnaissance and research role into law and could help prevent that responsibility from being transferred to another agency, like the U.S. Air Force. As a smaller agency, NOAA could be more vulnerable to bureaucratic infighting in Washington.
More frequent and intense extreme weather events are forcing agencies like NOAA to use outdated equipment and increase the tempo of their operations. Lawmakers and scientists worry that unless the hurricane hunter research fleet is significantly expanded soon, forecast accuracy will decline.
Currently, NOAA flies two aging WP-3D Orion turboprop hurricane research aircraft, nicknamed “Kermit” and “Miss Piggy,” and one heavily modified Gulfstream jet named “Gonzo,” which will reach the end of their useful lives in 2030.
In an unusual bipartisan development, the bill is being introduced by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), as well as six senators from both parties representing coastal states. The Commerce Commission has jurisdiction over NOAA.
The bill would also direct NOAA to continue acquiring and using cutting-edge scientific instruments, such as tail-mounted Doppler radars to improve hurricane forecasts and atmospheric river forecasts.
NOAA aircraft are used to monitor tropical storms and hurricanes by flying in, over, and around them, while deploying numerous specialized instruments and research tools to obtain 3D views of these severe storms.
In recent years, NOAA’s fleet has also been used to make more reliable predictions of atmospheric river events that can dump Biblical amounts of rain and heavy snow on the West Coast and other parts of the country.
The data collected from these flights is input into computer models used to predict the ultimate course and strength of such storms. This information has been shown to dramatically improve forecast accuracy, especially as Atlantic hurricanes continue to undergo periods of rapid intensification.
But aging planes and wear and tear from turbulence are causing problems. During recent hurricane seasons, scheduled reconnaissance missions have sometimes been canceled at the last minute due to mechanical problems.
The Air Force also conducts hurricane reconnaissance missions, but its large fleet of C-130J aircraft lacks much of the finely tuned research equipment that NOAA has.
Aircraft augmentation is designed to prevent such single points of failure, and the new bill includes language that would require NOAA to have a reserve aircraft for each mission.
NOAA is currently awaiting delivery of the latest replacements for its Gulfstream aircraft and is waiting for at least one new aircraft to begin introducing the WP-3D replacement.
NOAA has the authority to operate up to six hurricane hunter aircraft, double the agency’s current fleet, but such an increase has not yet occurred because Congress has not appropriated funding for it. If passed, the new bill would require the agency to deploy at least six and up to nine aircraft, paving the way for funding.
Cantwell represents a state that has experienced devastating flooding from atmospheric rivers in recent years.
“Atmospheric river swells are becoming more frequent and severe across the Pacific Northwest, and our communities are increasingly relying on accurate forecasts to prepare for flooding and other extreme weather events,” Cantwell said in a statement. “NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft collect critical data that improves forecasts, but many of the aircraft are more than 50 years old.”
If passed, the bill would also block potential efforts to transform the Hurricane Hunters into a drone aircraft research fleet, specifically requiring new planes to be “manned.” Concerns about such potential proposals center on whether drones can collect predictive-related information as accurately as currently manned aircraft.
Cruz said in a statement that the bill “will ensure NOAA has the modern fleet and capabilities it needs to continue providing accurate forecasts that the American public can rely on.” Cruz’s home state of Texas has been hit by several severe hurricanes in recent years.
NOAA has endured turmoil under the Trump administration. Last year, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) made significant cuts to the National Weather Service, then partially reversed them. Some Hurricane Hunter staff members were affected by the layoffs.
The White House’s latest budget request would eliminate the agency’s entire research division, including its network of labs, potentially severely hampering efforts to continue improving hurricane forecasts.
Many of the scientists who fly the Hurricane Hunter aircraft on missions are part of the agency’s research division. Until now, Congress has opposed such sweeping cuts to NOAA research.
“As extreme weather events become more frequent, we must ensure we have the resources to protect our communities,” Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware, said in a statement.
