Rep. Sharice Davids Grills NWS on Tornado Forecasting

0:00It's April 22nd. This is Kansas News Today. Local news powered by AI. US Representative Cherice Davids from Kansas is pressing the National Weather Service for answers after tornadoes tore through the Ottawa area. 10. Days ago, nine twisters hit hard, but luckily no one got seriously hurt. She's worried their forecasting systems fell short on key steps that could save lives next time. Davids fired off a letter this week to top weather service bosses, pointing to reports that morning weather balloon launches got skipped in regional offices. Those balloons give crucial data on air conditions to spot severe storms early. Folks in Kansas are counting on these warnings to stay safe. And Davids says gaps like this cut down response time when it matters most. She highlighted how staffing shortages might be stretching things thin across those offices. In her letter, she laid out four big questions for them to tackle within 30 days. Did they miss those launches? And why? Did missing info delay tornado watches?

1:01How many vacancies are there? And what do they need to fix it? Clean up crews are still grinding away in places like Ottawa, and Davids wants full transparency so everyone knows the weather service can handle. Whatever comes next.