Martin Wahl

Experts from around the country, especially in areas that traditionally experience severe weather-related events, are expressing concerns about the reported 800-plus layoffs, about 10% of its workforce, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including its National Weather Service (NWS) agency. The NWS maintains 122 forecast offices throughout the United States, including Guam and Puerto Rico; it is not clear what impacts there will be on the forecast offices.

What does NOAA do?

NOAA, a Department of Commerce bureau, provides daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration, and the supporting of marine commerce. NOAA’s products and services are intended to support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product.

And the National Weather Service?

In addition to providing weather forecast information to the public in general, the NWS’s Center Weather Service Units monitor and provide weather forecasts and advisories to the nation’s 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

NOAA had a run-in with Donald Trump during his previous presidency when they initially denied his “updating” of Hurricane Dorian’s forecast in September 2019 resulting in “Sharpiegate.” You may recall the President using posterboard and a Sharpie to show his prediction of the storm’s path.

In our G.E.T. readership area, the NWS maintains offices in Caribou and Gray/Portland, ME; Burlington, VT; and Albany, Buffalo and Binghamton, NY. No report was available at time of publication about layoffs at these offices.

Chart courtesy of NOAA

What’s the Expected Effect of the Cuts?

Reactions to the cuts have come from all around the country:

Fox News in Tampa reported that Florida Governor DeSantis, while generally applauding governmental cuts, allowed that the National Hurricane Center had been doing a good job during hurricane seasons. They also quoted a retired NWS staffer saying that offices were normally staffed for “fair weather” so that during hurricane weather they would work overtime. He said that staff reductions will make him nervous.

Fox News in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas reported that at least one person at the NWS Ft. Worth was fired, leaving a staff of two, and that meteorologists nationwide relied on the Service for the latest weather information. The Ft. Worth office provides tornado warnings to the area.

The meteorologist for Fox News in Kansas City said that almost everything they provide their viewers about the weather is sourced from the NWS, including the models they use to generate forecasts and provide weather watches, warnings and advisories, including those for tornados.

In Maine, NOAA has ended funding for Maine Sea Grant, abruptly halting a program that supported the marine industry for decades. Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced support for the program and demanded an explanation from the Secretary of Commerce and the release of committed funds, citing the Maine Sea Grant as an “invaluable resource that has supported research, workforce development, and economic growth in our state’s coastal regions for more than 50 years.”

NBC News reported concerns from around the country, including effects on New York and Vermont. The staffer who worked on the model that predicted flooding in Vermont in 2023 was among those let go.

NOAA reported details of 2024’s 27 weather-related events costing more than a billion dollars each, including three hurricanes, multiple tornado outbreaks, and wildfires. The numbers and severity of weather-related events has been trending upward: from $46B in 1980 to $95B in 2024, all in CPI-adjusted dollars. The chart illustrates the national trend. Also, you can go to https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/time-series to see what the trend has been in your state.

Washington State’s Senator Maria Cantwell spared no words predicting dire outcomes: “The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods—putting communities in harm’s way. They also threaten our maritime commerce and endanger 1.7 million jobs that depend on commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries, including thousands in the State of Washington. This action is a direct hit to our economy, because NOAA’s specialized workforce provides products and services that support more than a third of the nation’s GDP.” She cites Project 2025’s call to dismantle NOAA and eliminate many of its functions, in which NOAA was called part of the ‘climate change alarm industry.’”