Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Meteorologist Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel issued a warning on Monday about the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recent cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Newsweek reached out to the Office of Personnel Management via email for comment.Why It MattersPresident Donald Trump has tasked Elon Musk and DOGE with dramatically reducing government spending. Trump, Musk and DOGE have faced heavy criticism for a series of controversial cost-cutting measures and mass firings at multiple federal agencies.The cuts have severely impacted NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service. Hundreds of employees recently lost their jobs, and thousands are at risk. Some critical NOAA facilities are also set to be shuttered due to DOGE’s activities.What To KnowLast month, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) laid off about 880 NOAA employees, accounting for more than 7 percent of the agency’s workforce. The union representing NOAA and the NWS, which is a part of NOAA, has said that 586 probationary employees were among those terminated. NOAA employed about 12,000 people before the reductions.NOAA is best known for operating the NWS and the National Hurricane Center, which tracks tropical storms. The agency also manages the nation’s fisheries, protects marine species, provides emergency response to oil spills, and conducts basic science about climate change.
Demonstrators protest against Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, on March 3, 2025.
Demonstrators protest against Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts outside the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, on March 3, 2025.
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Responding to the recent cuts, Cantore, perhaps the country’s best-known meteorologist, warned in a statement emailed to Newsweek that the quality of forecasts may suffer under the cuts that impact the “entire weather enterprise, emphasizing the critical work people such as forecasters do.”I’m worried about the quality of the forecasts a bit going forward. Those forecasts are better as a group with NOAA/NWS taking the lead. I hope in the end it gets put back together in the best way to serve the public and keep them safe. Phone apps and icons don’t save lives, people do. Good quality people from forecasters, to modelers, radars and satellites. All these pieces are important,” Cantore said.He added, “Both the private sector and NOAA have seen challenging cuts of recent and these impacts the entire weather enterprise. It’s like having a car with three wheels. Hopefully repositioning monies and meteorologists can make up for the fourth wheel or we figure out a better way to do it with three. If not we all could suffer.”Cantore’s remarks come as DOGE is set to cancel the leases of several NOAA facilities, including the Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, Maryland.Opened in August 2012, the Center for Weather and Climate Prediction is associated with the University of Maryland’s flagship campus in College Park. The facility is where most of NOAA’s critical atmospheric modeling—not just nationally but globally—takes place.According to a federal facility profile of the center, its mission is to provide ” a seamless suite of environmental analysis, diagnostics and forecasts from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor.”The center, which replaced an older facility in Silver Springs, where NOAA is headquartered, is filled with advanced supercomputers that drive the models meteorologists across the country use to forecast weather. Transferring this type of equipment—which is not only large but also poses tremendous installation challenges—to another location would not be easy.Meanwhile, the cuts and the canceled leases come just as the country prepares to head into the Spring tornado season. About 70 percent of U.S. tornadoes occur between March and June.What People Are SayingLori Arguelles, NOAA’s former director of strategic communication and partnerships, previously told Newsweek: “Every single person that I know and have spoken directly with are so deeply concerned about the American people, because the mission matters. What these people at NOAA do is incredibly impactful and important.”Democratic Congressman Jared Huffman, in a statement about the NOAA layoffs last month: “People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information. Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives.”Michael Mann, a climatologist and director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media, previously told Newsweek: “NOAA’s work helps protect Americans by monitoring extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, that pose a threat to millions of people. NOAA has played—and continues to play—a fundamental role in monitoring the state of our atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and biosphere, collecting, maintaining and distributing key datasets used by scientists around the world.”What Happens NextThe Trump administration’s cuts to federal agencies, including NOAA and the NWS, will likely continue.
