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Forecaster says budget cuts could hurt hurricane predictions

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MIAMI (AP) - The retiring chief of the hurricane specialist unit at the National Hurricane Center in Miami says further cuts to tropical weather research will undermine recent improvements in hurricane intensity forecasts.

James Franklin has overseen the hurricane specialists who release tropical storm forecasts and warnings since 2009.

He says he's worried that the U.S. government's Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program will lose more funding under President Donald Trump.

The program had a $13 million budget when it began in 2009, but its funding is now less than half that. Trump's proposed budget includes cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Before joining the hurricane center, Franklin was on NOAA research teams that made breakthroughs in tropical storm forecasting and in the understanding of the winds circling a hurricane's eye.

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TERMS TO KNOW

TROPICAL STORM WATCH: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are possible within the specified coastal area within 48 hours.

TROPICAL STORM WARNING: An announcement that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph) are expected within the specified coastal area within 36 hours.

HURRICANE WATCH: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are possible somewhere within the specified coastal area. A hurricane watch is issued 48 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.

HURRICANE WARNING: An announcement that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected somewhere within the specified coastal area. A hurricane warning is issued 36 hours in advance of the anticipated onset of tropical-storm-force winds.