U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill this week expressed her strong support for two federal weather centers to retain their operations in Kansas City, Missouri, in a letter to Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Acting Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The upcoming closure of the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, which houses both the NOAA’s National Weather Service National Logistics Support Center and the National Reconditioning Center, is forcing both centers to relocate. NOAA is currently conducting a business case analysis-expected to be completed by the spring of 2014-to determine where to relocate the two centers.

McCaskill made the case in her letter that retaining the two centers in the region is the best fiscal and strategic choice for the agency.

“Sustaining this work in the Kansas City area provides for minimum disruption for the two centers’ employees and operations,” McCaskill said. “First, Kansas City’s central location and superb access to transportation modes makes it an ideal fit for the operations of these two centers. Further, Kansas City ranks among the most affordable major markets to live and work in across the nation, making it an ideal location for National Weather Service employees. Finally, Kansas City’s highly educated workforce provides the two centers access to trained, skilled employees to continue their critical missions.”