U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, this week emphasized West Virginia’s unique role in national weather forecasting operations during a nomination hearing for key leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The hearing focused on the nominations of Dr. Neil Jacobs for Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Taylor Jordan for Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, and Harry Kumar for Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Capito used the opportunity to spotlight the contributions of the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont, West Virginia, home to NOAA’s Environmental Security Computing Center. The facility hosts high-performance supercomputers, Hera and Raya, which are essential to NOAA’s artificial intelligence initiatives.

“The I-79 tech park in Fairmont is a unique asset for NOAA and the broader adoption of AI,” Capito said. “The park houses the supercomputing operation with the high-performance computers named Hera and Raya…what is your institutionalization of AI at NOAA and how would you use these assets that I’ve referenced?”

Capito also turned the discussion toward severe weather forecasting, particularly in light of devastating storms in Texas and the need for modernized emergency communication systems.

“I’d like to pivot to the storms in Texas and weather predicting. Obviously, I live in an area that is prone to rapid flooding like that, but the tragedy we see in Texas is like nothing I’ve seen,” Capito said. “It’s unimaginable for many of us. Community engagement, community warning systems, how can that be improved?”

Dr. Jacobs responded by stressing the need to modernize the way NOAA delivers critical weather alerts, especially in rural or underserved areas.

“Even if you have a perfect forecast, if you can’t get the information to the people, it’s totally useless,” Jacobs said. “So having a way to distribute the watches and warnings, and particularly in regions that don’t have good cell coverage, I think there’s an opportunity to modernize NOAA Weather Radio…Probably an all-of-the-above approach and modernizing these watches and warnings is something that’s going to be a top priority.”

The nominations are still under committee consideration.