WASHINGTON — Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said.
Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.
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Cuts at NOAA appeared to be happening in two rounds, one of 500 and one of 800, said Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who said he got the information from someone with first-hand knowledge. That’s about 10% of NOAA’s workforce.
The first round of cuts were probationary employees, McLean said. There are about 375 probationary employees in the National Weather Service — where day-to-day forecasting and hazard warning is done.
Andy Hazelton said he learned about the layoffs via email.
“It was a mass email that went out to a bunch of people. Very impersonal," he told WPTV. "We had not heard anything. Our supervisors didn't know, management at our EMC and NOAA didn't know.”
Hazelton is a model developer for NOAA and does hurricane model development and testing.
“Basically, I predict the weather. We have supercomputers that take all the equations of the atmosphere, solve them, and spit out a forecast. It could be for hurricanes, large scale weather events,” he said.
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His role is looking at hurricane forecasts and seeing, based on data and his expertise, if they're accurate, if they need to be improved and coming up with ways to improve them.
“Our forecast models that we make then get used by the National Hurricane Center,” Hazelton said.
Experts warn eliminating positions like Hazelton’s will bring weather safety concerns and jeopardize the lives of Americans.
“We've made a lot of progress over the last 10 to 20 years and tracking intensity forecasts and storm surge,” he said. “Hopefully, we can continue that.”
Hazelton said he is not surprised about the layoffs but was optimistic that NOAA would be exempt due to public safety concerns.
“We knew that things have been happening in other agencies," he said. "I think there was some hope that because of the public safety that NOAA is responsible for that there would be some exemptions for that.”
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Hazelton said he started out as a cooperative institute employee at Princeton University and University of Miami for a total of 8 years before his role with the National Hurricane Center.
He told WPTV reporter Ethan Stein that he and his 12 other colleagues at Environmental Modeling Center have been working for NOAA for 6 to 10 years, or more.
“We have a lot of expertise. Becoming a federal employee is like a promotion, so it was just kind of surprising to us,” he said.
Hazelton said the most frustrating part of the layoffs is not knowing what the future holds and lack of due process.
“I think the uncertainty and the fact that these decisions seem to be made at a very high level and aren't being communicated down the chain of commands,” he said. “If this is done in a legal way, there's processes that are supposed to be followed and that has not been followed.”
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Mass layoffs at NOAA jeopardize American lives, lawmakers and experts warn
Hazelton added that the layoffs come at a time when the agency should be focusing on improving hurricane models.
“This is disruptive. Our mission is protecting lives and property. This is our offseason for Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes. This is when we work on improving our models, getting it ready for the next season to be even better.”
The firings come amid efforts by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to shrink a federal workforce that President Donald Trump has called bloated and sloppy. Thousands of probationary employees across the government have already been fired.
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The National Weather Service, which is part of NOAA, said it would not be commenting on the matter and sent the following statement to WPTV:
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. Thanks for your understanding.
-Susan Buchanan, National Weather Service Public Affairs
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel told WPTV the layoffs will have far reaching implications.
“Florida has been battered by hurricanes and tornadoes year after year, and we’ve seen firsthand how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration saves lives—tracking storms, issuing life-or-death forecasts, and helping communities prepare before disaster strikes,” Frankel said. “Slashing hundreds of NOAA jobs isn’t just reckless—it’s a catastrophe waiting to happen. When the next storm barrels toward us, who will sound the alarm and keep our families safe? These are cuts we can’t afford.”
Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., released a statement saying:
"Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason. This is unconscionable. These are dedicated, hardworking Americans whose efforts help save lives and property from the devastating impacts of natural disasters across the country. This action will only endanger American lives going forward."
Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat who is the ranking minority member in the House Natural Resources Committee, also said "hundreds of scientists and experts at NOAA" were let go.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said on social media that the job cuts "are spectacularly short-sighted, and ultimately will deal a major self-inflicted wound to the public safety of Americans and the resiliency of the American economy to weather and climate-related disasters."
