Latest news with #AndrewHazelton
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Understaffed National Weather Service reportedly trying to fill 155 jobs before next month's hurricane season
Following hundreds of layoffs ahead of the upcoming hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Weather Service are now reportedly scrambling to hire more employees. The NWS is hoping to fill 155 positions across the U.S., according to CNN. The network said the agency is offering reassignment opportunities for qualified NOAA employees who are currently working elsewhere, citing an agency-wide email and an anonymous NOAA employee. The agency acknowledged that 'urgent action is needed to sustain mission-critical operations,' according to a separate report from The Washington Post. The paper, also citing notices sent to employees, said the NWS is offering to even pay moving expenses. "We don't discuss internal personnel or management details, but NWS is filling a number of vacancies. NWS remains adequately staffed to meet its missions around the clock,' the NOAA told The Independent in a statement. "NWS is prepared to meet the rigorous demands of hurricane season and will continue to prioritize the safety and security of the American people.' Dr. Andrew Hazelton, a former Hurricane Hunter who lost his job earlier in the layoffs, told The Independent on Wednesday that it's good that they're recognizing the importance of having offices fully staffed, but that transferring people from one place to another is going to cause shortages. 'Hopefully, we'll see some actual hires that allow the numbers to get back up to a good place,' he said. The layoffs impacted approximately 250 NWS employees, according to a letter shared with The Independent from former heads of the NWS. Furthermore, 300 employees left the public service. Experts have said that cuts will risk American lives down the line. The former heads explained that staff would have an 'impossible task to continue its current level of services.' 'That leaves the nation's official weather forecasting entity at a significant deficit – down more than 10 percent of its staffing – just as we head into the busiest time for severe storm predictions like tornadoes and hurricanes,' they said. The upcoming hurricane season, which runs from June through November, is expected to be active, and there is evidence that the cyclones are coming faster and earlier due to climate change. However, the administration has turned away from acknowledging the realities of climate change. Although many of NOAA's climate pages are still online, the federal agency recently announced it is retiring a tool to track the nation's billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. NOAA said there would be no updates beyond calendar year 2024, and that past reports would remain archived. The product helps to provide an economic look at the climate crisis in the U.S. for those more monetarily minded. It tallies overall damages and costs that reach or exceed $1 billion, of which there were 27 last year. That count includes drought and flooding evenings, severe weather and hurricanes, and wildfires and winter storms. It also includes a death toll and helps highlight specific events throughout the year. People can use it to look at risk and vulnerability at a county level across the U.S., trends over decades since 1980, maps, stats, and summaries of each incorporated disaster. But discontinuing it is 'in alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes,' NOAA wrote. Climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe, with the number of billion-dollar disasters increasing significantly over the past decades. Recent record-breaking flooding in the Midwest and South was made 9 percent more intense by climate change, according to the group World Weather Attribution. California Senator Adam Schiff decried the move, saying it 'undermines transparency.' 'The elimination of this database undermines transparency and will severely hinder the ability of policymakers, companies, researchers, and taxpayers to track the impacts of natural disasters and plan and model for future extreme weather events. For example, researchers who rely on NOAA data for climate risk financial modeling will no longer be able to extend damage trend analyses,' he said.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Understaffed National Weather Service reportedly trying to fill 155 jobs before next month's hurricane season
Following hundreds of layoffs ahead of the upcoming hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Weather Service are now reportedly scrambling to hire more employees. The NWS is hoping to fill 155 positions across the U.S., according to CNN. The network said the agency is offering reassignment opportunities for qualified NOAA employees who are currently working elsewhere, citing an agency-wide email and an anonymous NOAA employee. The agency acknowledged that 'urgent action is needed to sustain mission-critical operations,' according to a separate report from The Washington Post. The paper, also citing notices sent to employees, said the NWS is offering to even pay moving expenses. "We don't discuss internal personnel or management details, but NWS is filling a number of vacancies. NWS remains adequately staffed to meet its missions around the clock,' the NOAA told The Independent in a statement. "NWS is prepared to meet the rigorous demands of hurricane season and will continue to prioritize the safety and security of the American people.' Dr. Andrew Hazelton, a former Hurricane Hunter who lost his job earlier in the layoffs, told The Independent on Wednesday that it's good that they're recognizing the importance of having offices fully staffed, but that transferring people from one place to another is going to cause shortages. 'Hopefully, we'll see some actual hires that allow the numbers to get back up to a good place,' he said. The layoffs impacted approximately 250 NWS employees, according to a letter shared with The Independent from former heads of the NWS. Furthermore, 300 employees left the public service. Experts have said that cuts will risk American lives down the line. The former heads explained that staff would have an 'impossible task to continue its current level of services.' 'That leaves the nation's official weather forecasting entity at a significant deficit – down more than 10 percent of its staffing – just as we head into the busiest time for severe storm predictions like tornadoes and hurricanes,' they said. The upcoming hurricane season, which runs from June through November, is expected to be active, and there is evidence that the cyclones are coming faster and earlier due to climate change. However, the administration has turned away from acknowledging the realities of climate change. Although many of NOAA's climate pages are still online, the federal agency recently announced it is retiring a tool to track the nation's billion-dollar weather and climate disasters. NOAA said there would be no updates beyond calendar year 2024, and that past reports would remain archived. The product helps to provide an economic look at the climate crisis in the U.S. for those more monetarily minded. It tallies overall damages and costs that reach or exceed $1 billion, of which there were 27 last year. That count includes drought and flooding evenings, severe weather and hurricanes, and wildfires and winter storms. It also includes a death toll and helps highlight specific events throughout the year. People can use it to look at risk and vulnerability at a county level across the U.S., trends over decades since 1980, maps, stats, and summaries of each incorporated disaster. But discontinuing it is 'in alignment with evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes,' NOAA wrote. Climate change is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe, with the number of billion-dollar disasters increasing significantly over the past decades. Recent record-breaking flooding in the Midwest and South was made 9 percent more intense by climate change, according to the group World Weather Attribution. California Senator Adam Schiff decried the move, saying it 'undermines transparency.' 'The elimination of this database undermines transparency and will severely hinder the ability of policymakers, companies, researchers, and taxpayers to track the impacts of natural disasters and plan and model for future extreme weather events. For example, researchers who rely on NOAA data for climate risk financial modeling will no longer be able to extend damage trend analyses,' he said.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life' with NOAA layoffs
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation's Hurricane Hunters. He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm's power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. He said his job loss - and the thousands that have followed - are making Americans less safe. 'Because you could see the forecast improvements that we've come to count on or rely on could be reversed,' he told The Independent. 'And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that's not what we want to see.' President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, though his Department of Government Efficiency, have sought to trim the federal budget. They are looking at shrinking the workforce and have pushed for cuts across the federal government, including NOAA. About 800 agency workers were laid off in February with another 1,000 let go last week. Advocates have blasted the cuts at NOAA. They have pointed to how little the agency costs each taxpayer per day, when compared to the return. They note how the agency provides much of the data that weather forecasting is based on. They say losing people hurts their work, which could make people less safe when severe weather is on the horizon. "So it is, like, cutting off your nose to spite your face. Which seems a bit counterintuitive if your goal is really to serve the American people,' a former agency official previously told The Independent. Still, it hasn't slowed DOGE's efforts to shrink the NOAA workforce, including Hazelton. Hazelton grew up in central Florida and has been into the weather since he was a kid. Three hurricanes went through his county in 2004. They cemented his interest in the field. He went to Florida State and got a bachelor's degree in meteorology before working his way to a doctorate. After completing his Ph.D., Hazelton started working at NOAA - where he served for eight years. He later took on a federal position working for the Environment Modeling Center. 'I always knew I wanted to come back and work for NOAA and sort of be involved in all this. So, it definitely was kind of a dream and it's obviously sort of disappointing what's happening now,' he explained. Hazelton and the Hurricane Hunters flew into hurricanes to collect critical data that gives scientists a three-dimensional picture inside the storm. It's data that cannot be collected from satellites and is used by the National Hurricane Center to diagnose what the storm is doing and gets fed into computer models to help make forecasting more accurate. It's no easy feat and the ride can be 'pretty bumpy,' he noted. There were some 'nasty parts' of Hurricane Helene's eyewall, for example. 'It's exciting, but can also it be a little unnerving sometimes, too,' he said. Over the years, hurricane forecasting has improved, shrinking the cones that contain the probable path of the storm's center. Last year, the National Hurricane Center's forecast track performance was 'its best in history' for the Atlantic hurricane season. 'Now, the five-day forecast error [margin] is about like what the one or two-day error was 30 years ago, which is pretty remarkable,' said Hazelton. The forecast track error is the distance between the forecast location and the actual location of the center of the storm. Like many, Hazelton is waiting to see what comes from federal rulings that could perhaps temporarily reinstate fired probationary workers. Until then, NOAA is feeling the weight of these losses. 'There are a lot of forecast offices and places that are understaffed. So, it's just going to be a lot of strain across the enterprise,' he said. '...You hope that it doesn't lead to any big forecast issues, but you never know.'
The Independent
16-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life' with NOAA layoffs
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation's Hurricane Hunters. He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm's power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. He said his job loss - and the thousands that have followed - are making Americans less safe. 'Because you could see the forecast improvements that we've come to count on or rely on could be reversed,' he told The Independent. 'And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that's not what we want to see.' President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, though his Department of Government Efficiency, have sought to trim the federal budget. They are looking at shrinking the workforce and have pushed for cuts across the federal government, including NOAA. About 800 agency workers were laid off in February with another 1,000 let go last week. Advocates have blasted the cuts at NOAA. They have pointed to how little the agency costs each taxpayer per day, when compared to the return. They note how the agency provides much of the data that weather forecasting is based on. They say losing people hurts their work, which could make people less safe when severe weather is on the horizon. "So it is, like, cutting off your nose to spite your face. Which seems a bit counterintuitive if your goal is really to serve the American people,' a former agency official previously told The Independent. Still, it hasn't slowed DOGE's efforts to shrink the NOAA workforce, including Hazelton. Hazelton grew up in central Florida and has been into the weather since he was a kid. Three hurricanes went through his county in 2004. They cemented his interest in the field. He went to Florida State and got a bachelor's degree in meteorology before working his way to a doctorate. After completing his Ph.D., Hazelton started working at NOAA - where he served for eight years. He later took on a federal position working for the Environment Modeling Center. 'I always knew I wanted to come back and work for NOAA and sort of be involved in all this. So, it definitely was kind of a dream and it's obviously sort of disappointing what's happening now,' he explained. Hazelton and the Hurricane Hunters flew into hurricanes to collect critical data that gives scientists a three-dimensional picture inside the storm. It's data that cannot be collected from satellites and is used by the National Hurricane Center to diagnose what the storm is doing and gets fed into computer models to help make forecasting more accurate. It's no easy feat and the ride can be 'pretty bumpy,' he noted. There were some 'nasty parts' of Hurricane Helene's eyewall, for example. 'It's exciting, but can also it be a little unnerving sometimes, too,' he said. Over the years, hurricane forecasting has improved, shrinking the cones that contain the probable path of the storm's center. Last year, the National Hurricane Center's forecast track performance was 'its best in history' for the Atlantic hurricane season. 'Now, the five-day forecast error [margin] is about like what the one or two-day error was 30 years ago, which is pretty remarkable,' said Hazelton. The forecast track error is the distance between the forecast location and the actual location of the center of the storm. Like many, Hazelton is waiting to see what comes from federal rulings that could perhaps temporarily reinstate fired probationary workers. Until then, NOAA is feeling the weight of these losses. 'There are a lot of forecast offices and places that are understaffed. So, it's just going to be a lot of strain across the enterprise,' he said. '...You hope that it doesn't lead to any big forecast issues, but you never know.'
CNN
28-02-2025
- Climate
- CNN
NOAA fires about 800 employees, with more possible Friday
The Trump administration has its government-shrinking sights set on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where around 800 employees have been tapped for termination, according to two sources close to the agency. More layoffs are possible Friday, one of the sources said, potentially costing the weather, climate and environmental agency more than a thousand employees by the end of the week. Most divisions of the agency, which employs scientists and specialists in weather, oceans, biodiversity, climate and other research and planetary monitoring fields, were affected. Probationary employees — those who have been in their jobs for a year or less, in most cases — were fired Thursday, a person inside the National Weather Service told CNN. There are between 350 and 375 employees with that status at the weather service, though it's not clear how many of those were impacted; the person has heard there were some exemptions given to critical positions — likely life-threatening disaster forecasting roles, including hurricanes and severe thunderstorms. National Weather Service employees are protected by a workers' union, which was trying Thursday night to contact affected employees. Some employees who were fired said on social media that they were going to explore their legal options. The people who were charged with conducting the terminations seemed to have acted in a way that would minimize paper trails, a source close to NOAA said, making it difficult for others at the agency to know who was affected and leaving the word of firings to spread by word of mouth. The terminated NOAA workers' letters said, 'The Agency finds you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the Agency's current needs.' Many probationary workers at some federal agencies who were laid off earlier this month received letters that also said they were being let go because their performance has not been adequate to justify further employment – regardless of whether they had good reviews. The National Weather Service's mission is to 'protect lives and property.' The terminations are a blow to an agency that has been understaffed for years, even as the climate crisis accelerates and extreme weather becomes more frequent. Critics of the administration's plan to slash the agency — a directive that was outlined in Project 2025 — have said layoffs would further cripple America's ability to accurately forecast hurricanes, tornadoes and other costly, deadly extreme weather. Meteorologists and computer engineers across NOAA were impacted, including at the Hurricane Research Division, where employees work to increase the accuracy of hurricane forecasts. Andrew Hazelton, a researcher with a PhD in meteorology, was one of the employees terminated Thursday, he said on social media. His role was to evaluate hurricane forecasts and improve the physics in the models that the National hurricane Center uses to track the storms. 'I enjoy meteorology because weather affects everyone, and there's always so much to learn,' Hazelton is quoted as saying in his NOAA bio. 'Growing up in Florida, I experienced several hurricanes, and it thrills me to be able to study and analyze them in my career.' Other departments in which roles were terminated include the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and the division that develops and improves the United States' weather models. Zachary Labe was one such modeler that was terminated. 'My job was to strengthen NOAA's use of machine learning and AI for subseasonal-to-decadal weather and climate prediction,' Labe said on X.
