NOAA FY2026 Budget Request Cuts Most US Weather, Ocean & Climate Research
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has revealed more specifics on its plan for significant funding cuts. NOAA's submission to Congress requests $4.5 billion for the coming budget year—27% less than current spending levels. As in previous White House proposals, the most dramatic changes are planned for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. OAR currently operates 10 research labs and funds a network of 16 cooperative institutes and six regional climate centers. It also backs millions of dollars in research at many universities. The proposed budget would "eliminate" OAR, zeroing out over $700 million of spending and firing several hundred scientists and staff. Many more university research positions would also be cut without federal funding. Affected research would include work on tornadoes, hail, flash flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, El Nino and La Nina, water quality, air pollution, and more.
The budget proposal retains a few research programs, but moves them to other parts of NOAA. For example, the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma would be shut down. The only remaining severe weather research would come from specific projects like the U.S. Weather Research Program, the Phased Array Radar program, and the Joint Technology Transfer Initiative. These programs, totaling approximately $60 million and about 30 federal positions, would be transferred to the National Weather Service. Meteorologists around the country use something called the Applied Climate Information System to look up weather data from past years. ACIS is maintained by NOAA’s regional climate centers. This would be defunded. Most U.S. weather data is still housed at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, but it also faces a proposed 26% budget cut.
Funding toward the eventual replacement of NOAA's aging aircraft is also eliminated in the 2026 proposal. The agency currently operates 10 planes, including three that fly into hurricanes and carry out various other missions. According to the budget document, "Aircraft recapitalization is necessary for NOAA to keep its fleet of aircraft operational, and continue to provide essential services to the Nation, including accurate flood planning, hurricane and atmospheric rivers forecast, and data used by the Nation's emergency managers. The Budget does not provide funding for this program."
https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/NOAA%20FY26%20Congressional%20Justification.pdf
All of these budget changes are subject to congressional approval.
Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about NOAA's drastic research budget cuts: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
Text Credit: KCCI/Zane Satre/Meteorologist
Release Date: July 7-8, 2025
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