Great piece, Ryan. Extremely helpful to have your expertise and commentary on the impact of cuts @ NOAA. I knew something was amiss with NOAA and Commerce but didn’t realize the damage and unintended consequences of DOGE blindly “cutting the fat”. This is a dangerous and reckless act that may later result in unnecessary loss of life. Who will be held accountable for that? Anybody in DC thought of that one?
Anyway, this is a major issue for anyone who relies on precision forecasting (hurricanes are number one for us). It is a call to action for those of us fortunate enough to have landed on your service. I will contact ALL of all of my federally elected officials to urge them to reverse these actions.
For all of you WT subscribers who wish to take action on Ryan's post, here's what I sent to our two FL senators and representative just now to make it easy for you (and your friends!). Spread the word. The politicians need to hear from all of us! Your comments are impactful. Feel free to craft your response any way you want. Here's a start and you say whatever comes to mind to them:
Dear Senator Scott,
As a resident of Venice, FL, I am writing you to respectfully ask that you do everything in your power to reverse, in my opinion, indiscriminate firings and cuts to NOAA forecast experts who are charged with providing timely information for the public. This is a real problem for any American perennially under threat from tropical systems.
I knew something was amiss with NOAA and Commerce being swept up in Musk's DOGE cuts but didn’t realize the damage and unintended consequences of DOGE blindly “cutting the fat” and firing seasoned forecasters. This is a dangerous and reckless act that may later result in unnecessary loss of life. Who will be held accountable? Has anyone in DC thought of that?
This is a major issue for anyone who relies on precision forecasting. PLEASE have your staff investigate what has been done so far and is proposed by DOGE to cripple NOAA's ability to provide expert forecasting at no cost to Americans. I am contacting ALL of all of my federally elected officials to urge them to reverse these actions.
Great note! Thanks for applying pressure... I do think it is working as some of the NWS cuts have been rescinded, though not Dr. Hazelton as yet, unfortunately.
As a weather prediction addict with zero scientific expertise in meteorology, I'm aghast at what's happened to the folks who do have this scientific knowledge and have used it to protect our safety and sanity. I've contacted our three federal politicians and may consider, if I can make time, contacting other republican Senators in Washington.
Thanks, as always Ryan, for all you do to keep us in the know about hurricanes. Your dedication and efforts are valued big time!
Aunt Mary here. It was heartbreaking to read your seriously detailed post yesterday. Was also quite inspired to see how you are steadfastly facing this cruel, senseless attempt to destroy one of the nation's most important group of scientists, an agency born nearly three centuries ago. I agree w/Margaret's comment: this is a blatant political act.
To others reading here, don't assume any of your representatives will want to hear from you. Especially if Republican. Especially "Senator" Scott --- who was the very first governor to demand that the words "climate change" be entirely stricken --- unsearchable ANYWHERE in official state documents.
Titans of industry like Scott have collectively decided that climate change is a joke, a myth, a problem too daunting for the planet. At the Heritage Foundation they've labeled it an "alarmist industry." The truth is, the billionaires now in charge view climate change as an obstruction to their personal profit goals and their further plundering of planet resources. Ignoring it hasn't worked --- they now must drown it in a bathtub. They now must make it go away.
Hence, the annihilation of all scientific inquiry into climate scholarship. NOAA and Nixon's NWS have to be excised --- the more crudely and quickly it's done, the better.
One answer to this insulting chaos is for all of us to GET THE FACTS OUT as best we can to the public and loved ones alike, the same way Ryan has done here..
Some behind Project 2025 are the original banners of books, going back to the '80s, way before the DeSantis kill-the-colleges era. They truly hate (and fear) scholarship.
Ryan, you are a gifted scientist, an excellent writer. You and yours will triumph over these Dark Days in America. If you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to send these words out into the public marketplace, where others can learn the costs and folly of these random and reckless job cuts. I'd bet that the Miami Herald editorial-page editor would welcome this analysis of a critical agency under fire, an agency that deserves respect and care. MH enviro writer Alex Harris may want to explore the issue also.. Another contact: South Florida Sun-Sentinel's opinion editor Steve Bousquet. S-S is owned by a hedge fund, but they are very civic-minded. The public needs to hear from someone like you that the public cost of all the agency's scientific expertise is a tiny $4 per person PER YEAR.
Ryan, please let your colleagues know:
SO MANY THANK YOU ALL EVERY DAY for the expertise you provide ...
Thanks Aunt Mary! I took your advice and was able to publish this as an op-ed in the Florida USA Today papers across the state, in which my forecasts are sometimes printed. I thought it might make it more impact for the readers if they were familiar with my forecasting work.
So far, I've gotten a lot of encouraging feedback, plus the usual smattering of angry jerks, which comes with the territory.
I think Dr Hazelton just got his job back tonight (Thursday)... A Maryland fed case. One in CA restored many earlier today but Commerce Dept wasn't officially included; they probably will be tomorrow in an appended ruling. CA fed judge (50yr tenure) was so angry at gov't lawyer that he ruled FROM THE BENCH IMMEDIATELY! 👍👍
Andy just received his formal reinstatement letter today, though bizarrely the NOAA letters state all the probationary employees will be paid but not actually back at work, pending appeals.
I had no idea they were going so overboard in their efforts. I've already written to my representative, and thanks for having the links right in the article.
Thanks for a crucial and also clear and well-written post, Ryan. Your posts are life & death resources for those of us living in coastal Florida. It’s amazing the Republicans in this red-faced state don’t understand the risks and destruction they are hurling our way. Thanks for your dedication and expertise!
Thanks Dr.T 😃👍 for your important aricle. Sadly I dont think any Republican poltician gives a diddly damn about these cuts, whether to NOAA, to medicaid , to Social Security or to veterans. As far as environment, these people simply do not believe in climate change. They have-- thry think -- enough money personally to insulate themselves against disasters. I realize you don't want to make this political, but alas , I am afraid it is . With President Musk's & PINO Trumps control over the US military, Congress, Federal Government and the Courts , I think only God can help us. Against evil, " "Vengeance is mine ', sayeth the Lord,"I will repay." And God, please hurry up. 🙏
Sorry to hear about Dr. Hazelton. I thought he was at the NHC for years. I guess he was caught up in one of those “recently promoted, so on probation” terminations. 🫤
He was working a HRD for many years but had recently changed to a position doing similar work for a different branch of NOAA (EMC). As with many caught in the dragnet, he's a veteran public servant.
Ryan, any updates to share since your 5 Mar post on further damage to NOAA from the DOGE cuts? I want to light up our elected officials again to urge them to reverse the administration's decisions. Thank you as always for your intellect and valuable service to your subscribers. We appreciate you down here in SWFL!
Nothing good, unfortunately. My friend, Dr. Hazelton (who has returned to a position at UM) describes this as a DDoS on weather and climate science. The most notable developments on the operational meteorology front are: 1) continued depletion of NWS/NOAA personnel via retirement, which has left the NWS with fewer employees now than 100 years ago and 2) a FY26 budget that proposes closing the cooperative institutes that provide key development and support services to modeling/observations. In the research world, already allocated NSF grant funding is not being paid out per contractual obligation.
Overall, the specific attack varies from week to week, which feels like a strategy to deflect pushback on any single issue. Once the season begins, I'll have a column that tries to break down what the key impacts of all this on the upcoming season will be. Hopefully the moving target doesn't move further in the meantime. And advocating for the weather enterprise in general is never a bad idea. Our elected representatives need to know that NOAA/NWS are popular.
Thanks, as always, for your very informative report. It just hits harder to actually read this stuff. Like a punch to the gut. For us in FL…nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Boggles my mind we are here, dealing with this. Totally insane. As if hurricane season isn’t torturous enough now with climate change creating violent monsters.
Any word on how the cuts may or may not have hit the hurricane hunters in particular?
I called Dunn's DC and Tallahassee offices on Monday and advocated for Andy's and the other losses to be reversed-- a critical public safety issue in a district that has seen a Category 5, a Category 4, and a Category 3 hurricane make landfall in just the last 6 years, plus multiple destructive tornado outbreaks. I was told he would be making a statement this week, but thus far I've seen nothing of it.
Planning on sending his office a message next week asking for a meeting with his staff in the capacity of a small business owner dependent on the continued availability of NOAA/NWS data to make the case in person.
I believe his District goes all the way to Panama City so he should be tuned in. The cost of maintaining information & communication is a fraction of the cost of recovery to FEMA & the insurance industry. Florida has been through insurance companies leaving the market before. They are not a non profit enterprise.
Exactly! If you are concerned about debt-to-GDP ratios... don't shrink GDP.
FL-2 extends from Taylor County to Santa Rosa Beach, so truly the epicenter of the many Gulf Coast major hurricane landfalls we've unfortunately seen since 2017.
Great piece, Ryan. Extremely helpful to have your expertise and commentary on the impact of cuts @ NOAA. I knew something was amiss with NOAA and Commerce but didn’t realize the damage and unintended consequences of DOGE blindly “cutting the fat”. This is a dangerous and reckless act that may later result in unnecessary loss of life. Who will be held accountable for that? Anybody in DC thought of that one?
Anyway, this is a major issue for anyone who relies on precision forecasting (hurricanes are number one for us). It is a call to action for those of us fortunate enough to have landed on your service. I will contact ALL of all of my federally elected officials to urge them to reverse these actions.
Thank you for getting the word out!
For all of you WT subscribers who wish to take action on Ryan's post, here's what I sent to our two FL senators and representative just now to make it easy for you (and your friends!). Spread the word. The politicians need to hear from all of us! Your comments are impactful. Feel free to craft your response any way you want. Here's a start and you say whatever comes to mind to them:
Dear Senator Scott,
As a resident of Venice, FL, I am writing you to respectfully ask that you do everything in your power to reverse, in my opinion, indiscriminate firings and cuts to NOAA forecast experts who are charged with providing timely information for the public. This is a real problem for any American perennially under threat from tropical systems.
I knew something was amiss with NOAA and Commerce being swept up in Musk's DOGE cuts but didn’t realize the damage and unintended consequences of DOGE blindly “cutting the fat” and firing seasoned forecasters. This is a dangerous and reckless act that may later result in unnecessary loss of life. Who will be held accountable? Has anyone in DC thought of that?
This is a major issue for anyone who relies on precision forecasting. PLEASE have your staff investigate what has been done so far and is proposed by DOGE to cripple NOAA's ability to provide expert forecasting at no cost to Americans. I am contacting ALL of all of my federally elected officials to urge them to reverse these actions.
Thank you for your service!
Great note! Thanks for applying pressure... I do think it is working as some of the NWS cuts have been rescinded, though not Dr. Hazelton as yet, unfortunately.
As a weather prediction addict with zero scientific expertise in meteorology, I'm aghast at what's happened to the folks who do have this scientific knowledge and have used it to protect our safety and sanity. I've contacted our three federal politicians and may consider, if I can make time, contacting other republican Senators in Washington.
Thanks, as always Ryan, for all you do to keep us in the know about hurricanes. Your dedication and efforts are valued big time!
Aunt Mary here. It was heartbreaking to read your seriously detailed post yesterday. Was also quite inspired to see how you are steadfastly facing this cruel, senseless attempt to destroy one of the nation's most important group of scientists, an agency born nearly three centuries ago. I agree w/Margaret's comment: this is a blatant political act.
To others reading here, don't assume any of your representatives will want to hear from you. Especially if Republican. Especially "Senator" Scott --- who was the very first governor to demand that the words "climate change" be entirely stricken --- unsearchable ANYWHERE in official state documents.
Titans of industry like Scott have collectively decided that climate change is a joke, a myth, a problem too daunting for the planet. At the Heritage Foundation they've labeled it an "alarmist industry." The truth is, the billionaires now in charge view climate change as an obstruction to their personal profit goals and their further plundering of planet resources. Ignoring it hasn't worked --- they now must drown it in a bathtub. They now must make it go away.
Hence, the annihilation of all scientific inquiry into climate scholarship. NOAA and Nixon's NWS have to be excised --- the more crudely and quickly it's done, the better.
One answer to this insulting chaos is for all of us to GET THE FACTS OUT as best we can to the public and loved ones alike, the same way Ryan has done here..
Some behind Project 2025 are the original banners of books, going back to the '80s, way before the DeSantis kill-the-colleges era. They truly hate (and fear) scholarship.
Ryan, you are a gifted scientist, an excellent writer. You and yours will triumph over these Dark Days in America. If you feel comfortable doing so, I encourage you to send these words out into the public marketplace, where others can learn the costs and folly of these random and reckless job cuts. I'd bet that the Miami Herald editorial-page editor would welcome this analysis of a critical agency under fire, an agency that deserves respect and care. MH enviro writer Alex Harris may want to explore the issue also.. Another contact: South Florida Sun-Sentinel's opinion editor Steve Bousquet. S-S is owned by a hedge fund, but they are very civic-minded. The public needs to hear from someone like you that the public cost of all the agency's scientific expertise is a tiny $4 per person PER YEAR.
Ryan, please let your colleagues know:
SO MANY THANK YOU ALL EVERY DAY for the expertise you provide ...
in the name of science and safety 💓
And to NWS/NOAA employees all across the USA 👍
Thanks Aunt Mary! I took your advice and was able to publish this as an op-ed in the Florida USA Today papers across the state, in which my forecasts are sometimes printed. I thought it might make it more impact for the readers if they were familiar with my forecasting work.
So far, I've gotten a lot of encouraging feedback, plus the usual smattering of angry jerks, which comes with the territory.
I think Dr Hazelton just got his job back tonight (Thursday)... A Maryland fed case. One in CA restored many earlier today but Commerce Dept wasn't officially included; they probably will be tomorrow in an appended ruling. CA fed judge (50yr tenure) was so angry at gov't lawyer that he ruled FROM THE BENCH IMMEDIATELY! 👍👍
Andy just received his formal reinstatement letter today, though bizarrely the NOAA letters state all the probationary employees will be paid but not actually back at work, pending appeals.
Very efficient. Let the man do his job!
Life has become very bizarre, Ryan. Hope we all survive this Treasury scam/sham.
I had no idea they were going so overboard in their efforts. I've already written to my representative, and thanks for having the links right in the article.
I am just appalled, no other way to describe it. I have been spreading the word to my extended family as well as neighbors and will continue to do so.
Very much appreciate your getting the word out. As always, we are very grateful for you and your work!
Reposted everywhere I could.
Thanks for a crucial and also clear and well-written post, Ryan. Your posts are life & death resources for those of us living in coastal Florida. It’s amazing the Republicans in this red-faced state don’t understand the risks and destruction they are hurling our way. Thanks for your dedication and expertise!
To simply say thank you for this piece doesn’t feel like enough. But THANK YOU!
I know what you mean. As a Floridian, I rely on daly forecasts and your forecasts too. I keep Galveston in mind. Thanks.
Thanks Dr.T 😃👍 for your important aricle. Sadly I dont think any Republican poltician gives a diddly damn about these cuts, whether to NOAA, to medicaid , to Social Security or to veterans. As far as environment, these people simply do not believe in climate change. They have-- thry think -- enough money personally to insulate themselves against disasters. I realize you don't want to make this political, but alas , I am afraid it is . With President Musk's & PINO Trumps control over the US military, Congress, Federal Government and the Courts , I think only God can help us. Against evil, " "Vengeance is mine ', sayeth the Lord,"I will repay." And God, please hurry up. 🙏
Thank you.
Sorry to hear about Dr. Hazelton. I thought he was at the NHC for years. I guess he was caught up in one of those “recently promoted, so on probation” terminations. 🫤
He was working a HRD for many years but had recently changed to a position doing similar work for a different branch of NOAA (EMC). As with many caught in the dragnet, he's a veteran public servant.
Ryan, any updates to share since your 5 Mar post on further damage to NOAA from the DOGE cuts? I want to light up our elected officials again to urge them to reverse the administration's decisions. Thank you as always for your intellect and valuable service to your subscribers. We appreciate you down here in SWFL!
Nothing good, unfortunately. My friend, Dr. Hazelton (who has returned to a position at UM) describes this as a DDoS on weather and climate science. The most notable developments on the operational meteorology front are: 1) continued depletion of NWS/NOAA personnel via retirement, which has left the NWS with fewer employees now than 100 years ago and 2) a FY26 budget that proposes closing the cooperative institutes that provide key development and support services to modeling/observations. In the research world, already allocated NSF grant funding is not being paid out per contractual obligation.
Overall, the specific attack varies from week to week, which feels like a strategy to deflect pushback on any single issue. Once the season begins, I'll have a column that tries to break down what the key impacts of all this on the upcoming season will be. Hopefully the moving target doesn't move further in the meantime. And advocating for the weather enterprise in general is never a bad idea. Our elected representatives need to know that NOAA/NWS are popular.
Thanks, as always, for your very informative report. It just hits harder to actually read this stuff. Like a punch to the gut. For us in FL…nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Boggles my mind we are here, dealing with this. Totally insane. As if hurricane season isn’t torturous enough now with climate change creating violent monsters.
Any word on how the cuts may or may not have hit the hurricane hunters in particular?
Ryan,
Secretary of Commerce
HOWARD LUTNICK
Wall St Broker / Billionaire
Lutnick is supposed to be final decision maker -- not the Muskrat
* * *
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/weather/national-weather-service-cuts-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2E4.Un2M.NAAujS9zfF2v&smid=url-share
NYT Feb. 8, 2025
Background story re the attack on NOAA
I presume you have shared your concern with OUR US congressman Neal Dunn. If you haven’t, you should since he knows the impact.
I called Dunn's DC and Tallahassee offices on Monday and advocated for Andy's and the other losses to be reversed-- a critical public safety issue in a district that has seen a Category 5, a Category 4, and a Category 3 hurricane make landfall in just the last 6 years, plus multiple destructive tornado outbreaks. I was told he would be making a statement this week, but thus far I've seen nothing of it.
Planning on sending his office a message next week asking for a meeting with his staff in the capacity of a small business owner dependent on the continued availability of NOAA/NWS data to make the case in person.
I believe his District goes all the way to Panama City so he should be tuned in. The cost of maintaining information & communication is a fraction of the cost of recovery to FEMA & the insurance industry. Florida has been through insurance companies leaving the market before. They are not a non profit enterprise.
Exactly! If you are concerned about debt-to-GDP ratios... don't shrink GDP.
FL-2 extends from Taylor County to Santa Rosa Beach, so truly the epicenter of the many Gulf Coast major hurricane landfalls we've unfortunately seen since 2017.