In spite of the mortal storms during the weekend, one of the central government facilities that tracks severe storms and tornadoes, appears on the website of the Elon Musk government efficiency department as one with a planned office closure.
The storm prediction center, one of several entities located in the National Meteorological Center of Norman, Oklahoma, emits severe climatic forecasts throughout the country and identifies threat areas where storms and dangerous tornades could move with days in advance.
A spokesman for the Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration, the Federal Agency that studies and reports on the oceans, the atmosphere and the coasts, as well as supervises the Storm Prediction Center, as well as the National Meteorological Service, confirmed that the “problem leasing problem is in flow”.
Fire burns a residence during an outbreak of forest fires in Stillwater, Oklahoma, March 14, 2025.
Nick Oxford/Reuters
With this last storm, the storm prediction center began to alert about a possible potential climate event in parts of the west and south medium several days before the first tornadoes. The center also tracks which parts of the country could face critical fire conditions for extreme fire, since Oklahoma, where the center is located, remains low by the danger of fire after being devastated by mortal fires during the weekend.
At least 40 people were killed in the midst of more than 970 severe storm reports in more than two dozen states during the weekend. A three -day tornado outbreak crossed at least nine states.
The destruction of a severe storm is seen on March 15, 2025 in Wayne County, Missouri.
Jeff Roberson/AP
Fire burns a residence during an outbreak of forest fires in Stillwater, Oklahoma, March 14, 2025.
Nick Oxford/Reuters
Republican representative Tom Cole states that he intervened and that the center in Norman will not lose his lease.
“I am very proud to have advocated them. As a representative of the fourth district of Oklahoma, I will always fight for the Oklahomans and my voters!” Cole wrote in a launch last week.
Elon Musk arrives at the speech of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, at a joint session of Congress in the Capitol Chamber of the House of Representatives in Washington, on March 4, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP through Getty Images
But the building is still listed, along with hundreds of others, as a goal of Doge cuts.
ABC News has communicated with the White House to comment.
The president of the Assignments Committee of the House of Representations, Tom Cole, answers the questions of the Chamber Rules Committee while the panel prepares a bill of expenses that would maintain the federal agencies financed until September 30, in Washington, on March 10, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
When the General Services Administration briefly listed the office that planned to end a few weeks ago, NOAA locations sent shock waves through the scientific community, especially with the tornado season (and the hurricane season).
The Norman installation, according to local media, has been affected by some staff cuts.
Online, the center boasts of about 500 scientists, engineers, meteorologists and climatologists of NOAA, the University of Oklahoma and state agencies. It specializes in storm prediction and advanced radar technology.
“We serve as a national resource for research in severe weather and work in collaboration with the National Meteorological Service to ensure that their forecasts have knowledge, capacities and technologies to continue being world leaders to effectively communicate the precise, timely and processable forecasts and the warnings of extreme climate to the public and commercial,” says their mission statement.
ABC News has communicated with local Oklahoma legislators to comment, but has not had news at the time of publication.
