TAMPA BAY, Florida - Employees of the National Weather Service (NWS) are celebrating a Washington win Thursday, as Congress rebuffed the president's recommended cuts to the government's meteorological agency, instead choosing to give it a 3% increase for FY18 funding.
The budget decision comes after the most expensive hurricane season on record, and during a week where tornadoes hit the Southeast and another Nor'easter storm hit the Northeast.
The National Weather Service provides the vital information most television meteorologists, websites, and apps rely on to warn Americans about severe weather. The agency also plays an important role in helping commercial industries such as sea shipping and ground transportation.
10Investigates previously covered how funding cuts at the NWS could affect Florida.
President Trump recommended a $75 million (6%) cut to the NWS budget for FY18, which would have required the elimination of forecasting jobs, consolidation of the nation's two Tsunami warning centers into one, and likely reduced hours at offices, potentially including Tampa Bay's Ruskin office.
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