In Norman, scientists are working to significantly speed up tornado warnings while finding new paths to understanding deadly storms and protecting lives and property. A cooperative institute with more than 220 employees is studying ways to update weather radar facilities, investigate the dynamics of severe storms and more.

A Trump administration budget proposal for NOAA would slash funding for climate and earth sciences — including shuttering four Boulder-based labs and ending federal funding for two other

Colorado is the only state with two NOAA cooperative institutions. The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) works through Colorado State University, and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) operates at the University of Colorado Boulder.