Kentucky NWS forecast office faced federal staffing cuts before deadly tornadoes hit
As destructive and deadly tornadoes bared down on Kentucky, National Weather Service officials triaged to provide life-saving forecasts and warnings amid federal staffing cuts.
At least 23 people in the state died from powerful tornadoes that ripped through overnight May 16, and Gov. Andy Beshear said the death toll was expected to rise.
Most of the deaths were concentrated in the eastern part of the state, which is served by the weather service's Jackson, Kentucky, forecast office.
The office is one of four forecast offices that no longer has overnight staffing because of a shortage of meteorologists, according to Tom Fahy, legislative director for the weather service employees union. Hundreds have left the agency amid cuts ordered by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to slash the cost and size of the federal government.
Fahy said Jackson workers were called in May 16 work the overnight shift to coordinate with emergency management personnel and issue warnings throughout the night. The Jackson office had a full staff that he described as an 'all-hands-on-deck' situation due to the extreme storm.
'The deaths were not attributable to the staffing cuts,' he said. 'Everybody was there last night. We had a full team.'
In a statement, the weather service said the Jackson office had additional staffing and support from neighboring offices through the weekend.
As USA TODAY reported before the Kentucky storms, the weather service has had to scramble to cover vital shifts. For the first time in decades, not all forecast offices have '24/7' staffing, according to the weather service union.
Between 2010 and 2025, the weather service union said 600 workers left the agency due to retirement or attrition. In the first three months of the Trump administration, almost 600 people left the agency, including 100 people who were fired.
In addition to Jackson, three other forecast offices no longer have on-duty meteorologists to staff overnight shifts, Fahy said: Sacramento and Hanford, both in California, and Goodland, Kansas – near where severe thunderstorms are expected the evening of May 18. Offices in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Marquettee, Michigan, won't be staffed overnight beginning May 18. Starting June 1, the forecast office in Fairbanks, Alaska, also will cease overnight staffing; Pendleton, Oregon, also is on the list provided by Fahy, but a date has not been set.
Offices that no longer operate around the clock would receive aid from neighboring weather forecast offices when conditions warrant, Erica Cei, a weather service spokesperson, said in an email.
But Fahy worries about the staffing shortages. By the weather service union's count, about 52 of 122 weather forecast offices have staffing shortages above 20%.
'Communities across the country will be put in harm's way, in the path of oncoming or direct storms,' he said.
Eduardo Cuevas is a reporter for USA TODAY based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NWS forecast office faced staffing shortage before Kentucky tornadoes
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