Proposed NOAA Cuts Would Leave Kansans Unprepared for Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters

WASHINGTON, June 11 – Today, Ocean Conservancy released a new report detailing the role that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plays in supporting public safety and economic productivity in Kansas, from tornado warning systems to drought monitoring to aviation forecasting. As Congress weighs whether to pass $1.6 billion in federal budget cuts to NOAA, the report provides clarity on how cuts would impact Kansas and what leaders can do to protect NOAA services Kansans rely on. 

“NOAA touches nearly every aspect of Americans’ lives, even in landlocked Kansas,” said Katherine Tsantiris, Ocean Conservancy’s director of government relations. “The ocean does not stop mattering at the shoreline, and Kansas weather doesn’t start at its border. Weather across the Great Plains is shaped by conditions in the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, and changes thousands of miles away can have profound impacts across the state. NOAA gives Kansans the advance warning they need by spotting life-or-death threats long before they arrive.”

Kansas has unusually high exposure to weather risk. According to NOAA estimates, Kansas has experienced 102 weather and climate disaster events with at least $1 billion in damages from 1980-2024. This year, Kansas City saw record-breaking severe weather, recording 244 severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings.

Through an evaluation of NOAA data and government reporting, the report provides a snapshot of how the agency impacts everyday life in Kansas and supports key sectors of the Kansas economy. This includes its aerospace industry, which contributes $7 billion annually to Kansas’ gross domestic product, and its wind-powered electric generation, which supplied more than half of Kansas’ net generation in 2024. 

Drought is among the costliest hazards to the economy, with Kansas’ 2011 losses exceeded $1.7 billion. Across Kansas and the Great Plains, ranchers use weekly U.S. Drought Monitor maps, which draws on NOAA data, to make critical decisions — and the USDA uses the U.S. Drought Monitor to determine eligibility for specific aid programs. Without this monitoring, farmers lose access to vital information and face a harder time getting aid — exactly when speed and clarity matter most.

Key services provided by NOAA to Kansas include weather forecasting and tornado warning systems, agricultural data and drought monitoring, and aerospace and wind-power generation forecasting. The report predicts that proposed federal cuts to NOAA would likely lead to:

• Less accurate weather forecasting.
• Slower modernization of tornado, flood and flash-drought services.
• Erosion of NOAA’s U.S. Drought Monitor to accurately predict drought in Kansas.
• More expensive and uncertain infrastructure and water management operations, such as bridges and roads that rely on NOAA data to ensure they are built to withstand future climate and weather extremes.

“American farming and ranching families work incredibly hard, but their livelihoods are often at the mercy of weather patterns shaped hundreds or even thousands of miles away,” said Jeff Watters, Ocean Conservancy’s Vice President of External Affairs. “Their success depends on having reliable, up to date information to make crucial decisions on what to plant and when, and to prepare when severe weather threatens crops, livestock and equipment. NOAA provides the forecasts, data and certainty farmers need to make these decisions with confidence.” 

According to the report, even making targeted cuts to NOAA funding and services could have wide-ranging consequences. For example, the report explores how cuts to NOAA’s U.S. Drought Monitor, which draws on data from distant ocean conditions, would have direct impacts on Kansas ranchers, farmers and agencies. Data from the monitor feeds into NOAA’s Southern Plains Drought Early Warning System, which Kansas communities rely on for confidence and clarity when decisions are most costly and time-sensitive. It similarly explores how cuts to NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory would undermine the future readiness and safety of Kansas communities in reacting to tornados and extreme weather.

“NOAA operates as an interconnected whole that extends well beyond the forecast people see on their phone,” said Tsantiris. “Cutting one program or service will undermine NOAA’s ability to provide timely guidance and warnings for Kansas communities. It's like stripping key nutrients out of the soil and expecting it to produce the same harvest. It may not be obvious right away, but the entire ecosystem suffers.”

Ahead of the September 30, 2026, deadline for Congress to decide on $1.6 billion in NOAA funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration, the report provides the following recommendations for Kansas leaders:

• Fully fund NOAA as an integrated system, not a set of disconnected programs.
• Protect NOAA observation systems and satellite continuity that feed weather forecasting and severe-storm monitoring.
• Support efforts to transform innovative research into operational solutions to reduce risk and improve severe-weather warnings.
• Maintain NOAA drought monitoring and reporting systems.
• Support NOAA data infrastructure and applied climate services.
• Treat NOAA operations and maintenance as public safety spending, not overhead.

“NOAA is not a distant federal agency, it’s an integral part of our public safety net, our economy and our daily lives,” said Tsantiris. “Congress should once again stand united in rejecting proposed cuts to this critical agency. Weakening NOAA would have irreparable consequences for the safety and economic well-being of Kansas and communities across America.”