The cuts at NOAA before the start of hurricane season are especially concerning for hurricane-prone Southwest Florida.
A recent round of layoffs, reportedly affecting nearly 900 positions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), means fewer people will be watching the tropics come June 1, 2025.
That’s 10% of the total amount of employees, which some we’re told are critical local forecasters.
This change follows efforts from Elon Musk and the DOGE to shrink the federal workforce.
“It’s really frightening that we could lose a resource like this,” said Lynn Stewart, who lives in the Dean Park area of Fort Myers.
Darik Kristofer expressed similar concerns, “They provide crucial information and crucial forecasts for weather, and so it does scare me a little bit.”
Kristofer, who also lives in the Dean Park neighborhood, experienced severe flooding from recent hurricanes.
“Not only Helene but also Milton, where I had a considerable amount of water in my house. But we knew that was going to happen because of weather forecasting and meteorology,” he added.
“Weather is getting worse and worse. We’re having more catastrophic events, and we need an organization, a national organization, that collects and maintains this data,” expressed Stewart.
The Weather Authority Meteorologist Zach Maloch pointed out that it’s too early to determine the Southwest Florida impact of the NOAA layoffs.
“We need to see what their job titles were, what positions they held, to understand how this could affect us in the long run,” he said.
The Weather Authority relies on NOAA during severe weather situations, particularly the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.
“They provide all the watches, all the warnings for severe weather, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and of course, hurricanes,” Maloch said. “Their job is critical to us here at The Weather Authority.”
One thing is certain: everyone will be on high alert as the new hurricane season approaches.
NOAA gave WINK News the following statement with regards to the news:
“Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters. NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience. We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”
