US weather forecasting is more crippled than previously known as hurricane season nears [View all]
Source: CNN
The National Weather Service is in worse shape than previously known, according to interviews with current and former meteorologists, due to a combination of layoffs, early retirements and preexisting vacancies.
There is not a single manager in place at the hurricane-prone Houston-Galveston forecast office, according to a NOAA staff member who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
One NWS forecast office, in Goodland, Kansas, is no longer operating 24/7, with about a dozen more likely to shift to non-24-hour operations if action isnt taken this month. These offices include several in the Plains states and stretch into the Pacific Northwest.
The NWS has lost more than 550 people all told, since the start of Trumps second term, according to tallies kept by sources inside and outside of the agency. Thats about the same number as the agency lost in the 15 years between 2010 and 2025, according to Tom Fahy of Capitol Meteorologics.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/02/weather/nws-forecasting-layoffs-trump
But your weather app will save you, right? Especially since it gets its data from the NWS.
Interesting that almost all of Kentucky is leader-free.