FACT SHEET: Trump Administration Cuts To Forecasting, Readiness, Recovery, And Research Are Putting Lives In Iowa At Risk
Last Updated: 6/3/26
- TRUMP’S CUTS TO EXTREME WEATHER DISASTER PREVENTION AND RECOVERY PROGRAMS HURT IOWANS
- TRUMP’S GUTTING OF NOAA AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FUNDING IN IOWA THREATENS FORECAST ACCURACY AND TIMELINESS
- TRUMP’S MOVE TO SLASH AND CONSOLIDATE THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE UNDERMINES WILDFIRE RESEARCH AND RESPONSE IN IOWA
- RECENT EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN IOWA HAVE CAUSED MAJOR DESTRUCTION, AND SUCH EVENTS WILL BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND MORE SEVERE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
TRUMP’S CUTS TO EXTREME WEATHER DISASTER PREVENTION AND RECOVERY PROGRAMS HURT IOWANS
- Trump’s cuts jeopardized 48 projects in Iowa selected for FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding, totaling $23 million in grants for hazard mitigation and disaster resilience projects.
- Kalona was set to receive a $175,900 to fund stormwater management, while Cedar Rapids was set to receive a $30,400 to update hazard mitigation plans.
- In December 2025, a federal judge found FEMA’s actions were unlawful and ordered the reinstatement of BRIC. In March 2026, FEMA reopened program applications following an order requiring funding to be made available.
- FEMA rejected Iowa’s request for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding, which helps states better prepare for future storms, flooding, and wildfires.
- After FEMA stalled millions in reimbursements, Rock Valley had to borrow $19 million to respond to June 2024 flooding that damaged 500 homes. The loan cost the city $1,800 daily in interest, which was not reimbursable.
TRUMP’S GUTTING OF NOAA AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FUNDING IN IOWA THREATENS FORECAST ACCURACY AND TIMELINESS
- As of June 2025, the NWS office in Davenport did not have a Meteorologist in Charge nor a Warning Coordination Meteorologist in place.
- NWS paused weather balloon launches from its office in Omaha, Nebraska, which provided forecasts for central Iowa.
- Iowa meteorology experts warned that NWS and NOAA cuts could erode forecast accuracy for Iowa’s dynamic weather and tornado season.
TRUMP’S MOVE TO SLASH AND CONSOLIDATE THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE UNDERMINES WILDFIRE RESEARCH AND RESPONSE IN IOWA
- Under the Trump administration’s reorganization, the USFS is shuttering 57 of its 77 research facilities across 31 states, threatening scientific research on wildfires, drought, pests, and the effects of climate change on forests.
- Under the Trump administration’s reorganization, all regional USFS offices were slated for closure, including the Eastern regional office in Milwaukee, which served Iowa and employed 200-300 people.
- In Madison, the USFS will open a new “Great Lakes/Midwest State Office,” an office with just five to eight employees, alongside a new “Operations Service Center.”
RECENT EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS IN IOWA HAVE CAUSED MAJOR DESTRUCTION, AND SUCH EVENTS WILL BECOME MORE FREQUENT AND MORE SEVERE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE
- Between 2010 and 2026, Iowa saw 61 billion-dollar extreme disasters, totaling up to $50 billion in damages.
- Between January 2015 and October 2025, Iowa received a total of $609,768,938 in FEMA Public Assistance and Individual & Household Program disaster assistance funding, responding to 16 disaster events.
- In the past decade, Iowa has received $1,046,485,839 in FEMA disaster assistance funding.
- In IA-01, represented by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, there were 86 extreme weather disasters from 2011 to 2024. In that same period, the district received $53,800,044 in FEMA aid.
- In IA-02, represented by Rep. Ashley Hinson, there were 133 extreme weather disasters from 2011 to 2024. In that same period, the district received $207,408,136 in FEMA aid.
- In IA-03, represented by Rep. Zach Nunn, there were 70 extreme weather disasters from 2011 to 2024. In that same period, the district received $32,813,560 in FEMA aid.
- Researchers have found links between climate change, increased intensity, and single-day outbreaks of tornadoes. In 2024, Iowa saw the highest number of tornadoes on record, with 125.
- In just April and May 2024, Iowa recorded 98 tornadoes, including an EF-4 which severely damaged the town of Greenfield.
- In just the first seven months of 2025, 39 flash flood warnings were issued in Iowa, with cities in eastern Iowa seeing 250% of their normal rainfall.
- Extreme storms and tornadoes in July 2024 caused significant damage and left over 60,000 people in Iowa without power, including in Des Moines County. Just weeks earlier, Jackson County experienced severe storms and tornadoes that damaged multiple farmsteads.
- In June 2011, runoff from a record winter snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and heavy rains caused major flooding along the Missouri River. The flooding caused a levee to collapse, forcing 20% of residents in Hamburg to evacuate.
- Periods of severe flooding and drought are both increasing in Iowa.