The weather doesn’t know red state from blue state. The sun shines and rain pours down without discrimination. Yet sometimes even the weather can’t escape politics.
That's the case with a weather radar in Florida that will soon be identified by the initials of President Trump.
In March, Florida lawmakers passed a bill to rename the airport in Palm Beach from “Palm Beach International Airport” to “President Donald J. Trump International Airport.”
The name change is expected in July, and when it happens the airport’s three-letter code will change from PBI to DJT. Likewise, the Doppler radar located at the airport will change its identifier from TPBI to TDJT on or around Aug. 3, according to a notice from the National Weather Service issued Wednesday.
Eric Sorensen, a Democratic congressman from Illinois and degreed meteorologist, expressed his opinion about the radar name change in a post on X, saying "We will change that back in three years. So stupid."
We will change that back in three years. So stupid.
— Eric Sorensen (@ERICSORENSEN) June 25, 2026
Most U.S. weather radars are located at or near airports and are identified by the airport’s three-letter code. While the majority of radars are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the radar at the airport in Palm Beach is part of a network of 45 "Terminal Doppler Weather Radars" operated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
These terminal radars are specially designed to detect dangerous thunderstorm wind gusts that can threaten aircraft, especially during takeoff and landing. They are also useful to meteorologists more broadly to help fill gaps in the larger network of nearly 160 radars operated by NOAA.
