Mass NOAA layoffs spark concerns among meteorologists, emergency officials
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Hundreds of weather forecasters and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were fired Thursday in the latest wave of cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, sparking concern among local forecasters and emergency officials.
The Associated Press reports that the cuts appear to be happening in two phases, with roughly 1,300 people expected to be laid off—nearly 10% of NOAA’s staff.
Eric Aldrich -- an assistant teaching professor of meteorology at the University of Missouri -- said the cuts could severely limit local meteorologists' ability to do their jobs. The National Weather Service is responsible for more than just forecasting—it oversees weather research, maintains radar systems and ensures satellites used to track storm systems are functioning properly. Local meteorologists rely on this data to produce accurate forecasts.
“That's kind of concerning because without weather observation systems like a satellite or a weather station or a weather service radar, we're not able to take that information and put it into a computer model that helps forecast the weather, which is ultimately where your weather forecast comes from,” Aldrich said.
He added that without the NWS, the job of a local meteorologist becomes much more difficult.
“One of the things that I, and many other meteorologists and meteorology students, are very concerned about is all of this happening right before severe weather season,” Alrdich said. “The mission of the National Weather Service is to protect life and property. And if you reduce that staff and you reduce that funding, then the protection of life and property will suffer.”
Local emergency management agencies also rely on the NWS.
Larry Oerly, an emergency coordinator for Cooper County Emergency Management Services, said the Kansas City NWS recently trained 40 people in storm spotter techniques, a service the county depends on daily.
“If we have a storm coming in during the event, and it's outdoor, they'll provide a heads up that ‘Hey, 20 minutes out you got a severe thunderstorm coming in’ or something like that and gives us time to help evacuate,” Oerly said. “That is really important for the safety of the patrons of some outdoor events.”
Oerly worries that cuts to the NWS could hinder its ability to keep people safe in the future.
“My biggest concern would be that if the staffing gets cut to the point where they can't provide emergency managers, as well as the news media, with the information that we need to make sound decisions on alerting the public of storms and severe weather,” Oerly said.
Some have proposed privatizing weather forecasting, including the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which is viewed by many as a policy blueprint for President Donald Trump's administration. Trump denied endorsing the plan on the campaign trail. Aldrich believes privatization could lead to unintended consequences.
“They're going to have to make some sort of income. And then so, are they going to charge people for a weather forecast? Or are they going to charge people for a tornado warning? So, it gets very, very slippery slope right there,” Aldrich said. “The amount of money that a taxpayer pays for all of that information is extremely small and quite honestly, isn't really saving a lot of money in the long run by removing those possessions.”
Sam McCurdy is a junior atmospheric science major at MU who grew up fascinated with weather. Before graduating high school, he decided to turn that passion into a career. Now he says many students are concerned about how these cuts will affect their future career aspirations.
“This kind of stuff is just very devastating for me because I'm not even in the career field yet. I'm just witnessing like my future aspirations kind of trickle down into the drain,” McCurdy said. “For me and other students, it's just hard to see that a lot of people don't understand exactly what we're losing, all the data that we're losing and the opportunities that we're having to save people from weather, because the weather is can be violent. And it's it's very upsetting.”
