NOAA’s famed Hurricane Hunter airplane missions significantly increase the accuracy of hurricane forecasts, according to new research that comes as the government’s weather analysis system faces potentially debilitating cuts.
The Hurricane Hunter program, which sends aircraft into tropical cyclones to gather data for scientists to analyze, improves the accuracy of hurricane forecasts by up to 24 percent, according to a study published in May.
The study adds to research showing the value of the Hurricane Hunter program as President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts put them in jeopardy.
Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026 does not appear to target the Hurricane Hunter program. But it would end funding for NOAA’s research network including the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, whose scientists collect measurements on the Hurricane Hunter flights.
