NOAA Cuts 17% of Staff, Degrading U.S. Weather Intelligence System
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Aug 17
NOAA Cuts 17% of Staff, Degrading U.S. Weather Intelligence System
2 articles · Updated · Forbes · Aug 17
Summary
About 2,500 NOAA employees—17% of the agency—were cut under Elon Musk’s DOGE program, leaving fewer weather balloons, fewer coastal buoys, offline local stations and stalled planning for replacement satellites needed in the early 2030s.
Those losses are already weakening forecasts and field support: a key Alaska marine weather station has been down for months, Kansas tornadoes went unpredicted this spring, and balloon gaps hurt Typhoon Halong forecasts in western Alaska.
NOAA says the National Weather Service has hired 321 staff since late last year and all 122 forecast offices can maintain 24/7 operations, but critics say the agency still entered extreme-weather season roughly 300 employees short and with less experience.
Up to 6% of U.S. GDP—about $1.34 trillion a year—depends on weather-sensitive decisions in aviation, farming, insurance, shipping and infrastructure, raising concern that degraded public data will push costs and risks onto businesses and consumers.
The pressure may deepen: the Trump administration is seeking another 27% NOAA cut for fiscal 2027, to about $4.4 billion from $6.17 billion, while some officials and industry groups warn privatizing core data would make it costlier and less transparent.