Weather Service Faces Staff Cuts During Hurricane Season

The National Weather Service is heading into what's predicted to be an active hurricane season with a major problem - they're missing about 10% of their workforce. Hurricane season preparedness takes a hit when the folks responsible for tracking storms and issuing warnings are stretched dangerously thin.

Recent federal budget cuts eliminated roughly 1,000 jobs from NOAA, the Weather Service's parent agency. About 550 of those cuts came directly from the Weather Service, including people who work at the National Hurricane Center and local forecast offices across the country. Weather forecast cuts like these haven't happened during hurricane season in anyone's memory.

Critical Staffing Shortages

Meteorologist shortages are hitting local forecast offices the hardest. At least six offices are considered critically understaffed, including locations in Jackson, Kentucky; Goodland, Kansas; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Hanford, California; Sacramento, California; and Fairbanks, Alaska. When offices drop below seven operational meteorologists, they can't cover 24-hour shifts anymore.

Bill Read, who ran the National Hurricane Center from 2008 to 2012, says he’s never seen staffing shortages this severe during his entire career. The remaining meteorologists will do whatever it takes to keep communities safe, but they're taking on way more work than normal.