As an active hurricane season looms for Florida, the National Weather Service is hiring.
The Trump administration, through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has slashed workforces in multiple federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which encompasses the NWS and the National Hurricane Center.
With concerns rising over whether the stripped-down agencies will be enough to handle increasingly dangerous weather in the U.S., CNN has reported that the NWS has received permission to temporarily lift the hiring freeze and hire about 125 new meteorologists and specialists for its forecast offices around the country.
The NWS is also hoping to continue hiring more people under a public safety exemption, CNN said.
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Is the National Weather Service hiring in Florida?
As of June 3, any hiring is still in the planning stages. NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei told Newsweek that the agency is planning to hire additional staff members to “stabilize” the department to address people who took the voluntary early retirement option.
In May, USA TODAY reported that the weather service was working to transfer meteorologists from well-staffed offices to fill 155 positions where they’re needed.
“Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize front-line operations,” Cei said.
National Weather Service staff reductions
More than 550 of the 4,800 weather service employees have been dismissed, retired or accepted incentive offers to step down. Many of the country’s 122 local weather service forecast offices, usually staffed 24 hours day, seven days a week, were left shorthanded with staff reductions from 20-40% and scrambling to cover staffing and maintain the usual quality and number of measurements.
Several offices were forced to end or reduce weather balloon launches, which can reduce the agency’s ability to predict weather, and CNN reported on May 2 that 30 NWS offices no longer had a lead meteorologist. NOAA, which studies Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and climate, has also canceled events in a public awareness campaign on the importance of early preparation.
“This has never happened before. We’ve always been an agency that has provided 24/7 service to the American public,” Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, told ABC News. “The risk is extremely high — if cuts like this continue to the National Weather Service, people will die.”
The Trump administration laid off an estimated 650 NOAA employees in February in the name of cutting government spending, including two flight directors and an electronic engineer at NOAA’s Office of Aircraft Operations, home of the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. That could affect the agency’s ability to conduct the twice-daily flights necessary during a significant hurricane threat, according to former Hurricane Hunter and cofounder of Weather Underground Jeff Masters, especially if one or more becomes unavailable or sick.
NOAA employees have been told to expect a further 50% reduction in its staff of almost 12,000.
Hurricane season fears: Will federal cuts and state budget battle put Florida’s hurricane readiness in peril?
When is hurricane season?
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season began Sunday, June 1, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 30. However, storms can and do occur outside of those dates.
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AccuWeather, NHC predictions for 2025 hurricane season
AccuWeather is predicting the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season could bring:
NOAA is predicting a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance for a below-normal season. Forecasters predict:
Colorado State University meteorologists predict:
Dr. Ryan Truchelut of WeatherTiger hedged his bets and predicted that the 2025 season has a 50-50 chance of landing in the ranges of:
Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: National Weather Service to hire about 125 to replace DOGE losses
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