Nat'l. Weather Svc. (NWS) failure in action

[live love laugh]

I’m in Chicago. Major snowstorm. Not predicted. Google weather changes by the minute. Last night there was a tiny bit of snow and Google showed it stopping by 7 PM. Woke up this morning to a foot of snow Google showed it stopping by 11 AM. Then two hours later Google showed the snow would stop by 1 PM. Just checked in less than a hour and Google shows the snow will stop by 7 PM‼️ This has never happened.

Normally with accurate predictions the highways are cleared at least. There’re some plows on highways but nowhere near what’s needed.

Will the media cover this NWS failure? Definitely not. It’s shameful.

[Renew Deal]

1. It's a prediction

And like you said, normally it’s right.

[live love laugh]

4. A lot that goes into accurate predictions has been gutted if you weren't aware.

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-lasting-threat-of-trumps-cuts-to-noaa-and-nws-on-american-communities/

Over the Fourth of July weekend, heavy rainfall led to devastating and catastrophic flooding across six Central Texas counties. More than 100 people have died, with hundreds more reported as still missing. The flood has already become the deadliest inland U.S. flooding event in almost 50 years. As of this writing, the estimated total damage and economic loss will be between $18 billion and $22 billion dollars. The events in Texas are a heartbreaking reminder of how harmful continued climate change will be, as it is already fueling more intense, more frequent, and more catastrophic floods. Investment in disaster preparedness is crucial to giving communities a fighting chance to prepare for and respond to these events.

Amid this backdrop, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has significantly reduced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff, research capacity, and data-sharing capabilities, including weather forecasts. The National Weather Service (NWS), in particular, has lost close to 600 staff at a time when 40 percent of national weather forecast offices are facing significant staff vacancies. Specifically for the Austin/San Antonio forecasting office, which covers areas affected by the Texas floods, the Trump administration’s recent DOGE layoffs included a warning coordination meteorologist position that plays a critical role in communication coordination between forecasters, emergency managers, and the public. These cuts to NOAA and NWS programs, staff, and data are making communities more vulnerable to storms like the one that hit Kerr County, Texas, over the weekend. And now, the Trump administration is looking to expand those cuts.

The Trump administration’s 2026 budget appears to be actively working to eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research(OAR) along with all NOAA weather laboratories and cooperative institutes and laboratories, which provide weather forecasting data and research from 80 universities and work to improve NOAA’s warning and forecast capabilities. Without continued funding, long-term datasets would be disrupted and the NWS’ ability to inform disaster preparation and provide accurate and timely weather tracking would be at risk. Moreover, the president just signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which, among other dangerous provisions, repealed all unobligated funds that the Biden administration had designated for improving research, forecasting, monitoring, and public communication of hazardous weather.

[GusBob]

2. Are you looking at NWS source or google?

Accu- weather and other private sources alway wrong

The site that ends in .gov is always the most accurate Even during the shutdown they ran best

Also be advised lake effect from LM makes winter weather very hard to predict

[live love laugh]

5. Where would Google obtain weather data other than the NWS?

[NewHendoLib]

3. This was a very complex storm. Even Ryan Hall y'all

Was taking lots of heat for over or under hyping it

[sl8]

6. The NWS Chicago tweet yesterday predicted that the snow would continue until early P.M. Sunday.

Are you sure you were checking the NWS forecast?

NWS Chicago
@NWSChicago

Snow will spread into the area this evening and persist through Sun. While the highest accums are expected near/east of I-55 and the lake, the cold pavement temps will allow snow to stick and result in hazardous travel. Use caution if traveling tonight and/or on Sun! #ILwx #INwx



4:31 PM · Jan 24, 2026

Link to tweet

[surrealAmerican]

7. This happens a lot with lake effect snow.

Slight variations in wind speed or direction can be the difference between a dusting and six inches.

[SheltieLover]

8. Try WGN9 app. Tells me down to quarter hour what to expect with 100% accuracy.

Love it!



Ps Maybe Google is depending on AI slop!

[hunter]

9. So far as I'm concerned there are only two weather services:

The official National Weather Service site, which is here:

https://www.weather.gov/

and wunderground, now a part of weather.com, which is ad free for $9.99 a year.

https://www.wunderground.com/

Everything else I've seen in the U.S.A. is garbage.

Yeah, the National Weather Service has been severely compromised by budget and staff cuts in the Republican's morbid plan to privatize everything and kill people, but it's still better than anything you see on television or some stupid advertising and spyware laden phone "app."

[ratchiweenie]

10. Trump administration has decimated NWS and NOAA. That is the biggest change.