Latest news with #WeatherService
New York Times
2 days ago
- Climate
- New York Times
Weather Service Is Hiring Hundreds After Sweeping Cuts Earlier This Year
The National Weather Service plans to hire hundreds of new employees, months after it lost more than 500 people to the Trump administration's sweeping effort to reshape the federal work force, according to the union representing the department's meteorologists. Tom Fahy, the union's legislative director, said Thursday that between the cuts and other vacancies that existed at the start of the year, up to 770 empty positions at forecast offices and other departments could be filled. They include meteorologists, hydrologists, physical scientists and electronics technicians who maintain the infrastructure that delivers the nation's forecasts. A statement from Representatives Mike Flood, a Republican from Nebraska, and Eric Sorensen, an Illinois Democrat, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Weather Service's parent agency, would be hiring for 450 'critical positions.' That would restore nearly all the positions lost to cuts earlier this year. A spokesperson for the Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, directed questions on how many positions would be filled to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In June, the Weather Service said it had received permission to hire for 126 positions to help stabilize the agency after the sweeping cuts earlier in the year. There has been little immediate progress to fill those jobs, but late last month the agency posted a handful of electronics technician positions on USA Jobs, the federal hiring portal. 'Those positions were regretfully tied up in administrative red tape for too long,' Mr. Fahy said. It was unclear when the additional positions would be posted, or how quickly the agency would move to fill them. The Weather Service has been granted the authority to hire directly, potentially cutting through the traditional bureaucracy that has slowed hiring in the past, according to John Sokich, a former director of congressional affairs for the Weather Service. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Climate
- USA Today
Feds take steps to fill vacancies at the National Weather Service
Weather Service will hire 450 people, but experts say it won't help fill critical vacancies during current hurricane and wildfire season. The National Weather Service has taken steps to begin filling some of the more than 550 positions left vacant by federal cutbacks and early retirements since Inauguration Day. Earlier in the summer, the agency received an emergency hiring exemption to fill 126 of its vacant positions and has begun to post those jobs on But in an all-hands meeting on Aug. 4, weather service employees learned the agency has since received permission to hire a total of 450 people by September 2026, said two long-time weather service veterans who retired earlier this year. The mass exodus of workers this winter and spring, as the Trump administration aimed to shrink the federal budget and bureaucracy, prompted widespread concern across the weather service staff, many members of Congress and the broader weather forecasting community. Vacancy rates were as high as 40% in some weather service offices, USA TODAY previously reported. Several weather service forecast offices began closing overnight because they could no longer staff the typical 24/7 operations and weather balloon launches to gather critical data were interrupted. While the new hires are "good news," it doesn't mean clear sailing for the beleaguered agency in the months ahead, given the complicated federal hiring process and the need to train new employees, said Brian LaMarre, who retired earlier this year as meteorologist-in-charge of the weather service office in Ruskin/Tampa, Florida, after more than 30 years with the agency. "That still doesn't backfill to what the agency was on January 1, but it's a good step," LaMarre said, noting it will take months to fill posts now vacant and those created by promotions. In an email to USA TODAY, the agency declined to comment, confirm or deny the information that emerged from its employee meeting Aug. 4. In that meeting, employees were told the meteorologist, hydrologist and electronics technician positions have all been exempted from an ongoing federal hiring freeze, said Alan Gerard, another 30-plus year veteran meteorologist who retired earlier this year. Gerard now writes the "Balanced Weather" blog on Substack. In July, President Donald Trump extended that freeze through Oct. 15. Mass job cuts hit NOAA, the agency that oversees hurricane center and weather service The agency also has been given direct hiring authority, a step that typically allows federal agencies slightly more flexibility with the federal hiring rules, Gerard said. Hiring new people to fill critical positions is "good news, but it's not going to help in any concrete way for many months," he said. Considering the time it takes to hire and train new people, these steps "aren't going to help for this hurricane and wildfire season." The weather service isn't just meteorologists So far, the first positions to be advertised are for electronics technician openings, which were among the 126 "critical vacancies." That's especially good news, LaMarre said. The importance of the technicians was overlooked in the initial flurry of reports about the terminations of probationary employees and the consternation over the massive departures at the weather service, he said. The technicians are responsible for maintaining and repairing the all-important radar systems and other equipment used to make forecasts, he said, not only at the weather service forecast offices but also at airports where the weather service has agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration to maintain radar equipment. "These are critical operations pieces," he said. "The publicity is often on the meteorologists, but the technicians are the foundation of what's done." LaMarre said it's also good news that hydrologists will be among those hired. It could allow the agency to follow through on a plan to place hydrologists in state emergency operations centers, to assist in forecasting flood events. They'd already done that in Virigina and were about to do it in Texas, he said. Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, has covered climate change, weather and other news for decades. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Climate
- The Hill
Weather Service expected to expand hiring efforts amid vacancies
The National Weather Service (NWS) is expected to expand its hiring efforts after facing both vacancies and public scrutiny of Trump administration cuts. Tom Fahy, legislative director at the National Weather Service Employees Organization, told The Hill on Wednesday that he expects the service to hire for additional positions beyond the 126 that were previously reported. Fahy said it could mean 'potentially hundreds' of new jobs. CNN first reported this week that the Weather Service planned to hire back hundreds of jobs. According to the news outlet, the NWS will be able to hire a total of 450 positions including meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians. A Weather Service spokesperson declined to comment. The NWS and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), represented two of many government entities that faced job cuts and buyouts due to the administration's Department of Government Efficiency. However, as hurricane season began, and in particular after the deadly flooding in Texas, many of these cuts began to face scrutiny. An internal memo warned in June that some offices around the country were 'critically understaffed.' Last month, the White House issued a memo that extended a federal hiring freeze but exempted a few agencies, including the Weather Service. Neil Jacobs, who has been nominated to lead NOAA, pledged during his confirmation hearing to make NWS staffing a 'top priority.' His nomination is still pending, though he is expected to be approved. Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed concerns about the staffing levels at the NWS, with bipartisan bills being introduced in both the House and Senate on the issue.
News24
3 days ago
- Climate
- News24
Thursday's weather: Rain, thunderstorms and hail in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of severe thunderstoms, rain, hail and windy conditions in parts of Limpopo, Gauteng and Gauteng. Wet conditions are also expected in four other provinces, while cold to cool conditions are forecast for the Western Cape and Northern Cape. Impact-based warnings Yellow Level 3: Severe thunderstorms resulting in travel disruptions, flooding, large amounts of small hail and wind which may lead to damage in parts of Limpopo, most of the Mpumalanga Highveld, and central and northern Gauteng. Weather forecast for today & tomorrow, 06-07 Aug 2025: A COL is expected over the central and E parts of RSA, it will be cloudy & cold-cool with 30-60% showers & thundershowers. Snowfall is also expected over the escarpment of EC, FS and Lesotho⚠️Severe & damaging waves — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) August 6, 2025 In the SAWS' colour-coded weather warning system, yellow indicates a moderate risk of impact that requires caution and awareness, while orange indicates that higher-risk impact is expected, requiring increased attention and preparation. SAWS uses the numbers to indicate the likelihood of weather-based impacts occurring. Levels 2 and 6 are high, and Level 4 is low. Advisories Very cold conditions with light snowfalls are anticipated over the northern high-lying areas of the Eastern Cape until Friday. A Cut-off-low is expected to result in cloudy and cold conditions over the central & eastern parts of the country between Wednesday and Thursday, 6-7 August 2025, with isolated to scattered showers & thundershowers expected over Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West & KZN. — SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) August 5, 2025 The weather in your province Gauteng: Cloudy and cold with scattered showers and thundershowers. Pretoria: 8°C — 15°C Johannesburg: 7°C — 15°C Vereeniging: 5°C — 15°C Mpumalanga: Cloudy and cold with scattered showers and thundershowers, although isolated in the east. Mbombela: 9°C — 19°C Ermelo: 6°C — 12°C Emalahleni: 6°C — 14°C Standerton: 5°C — 15°C Skukuza: 5°C — 21°C Limpopo: Cloudy and cold to cool with isolated showers and thundershowers, becoming scattered in the west. Polokwane: 7°C — 18°C Phalaborwa: 10°C — 23°C Tzaneen: 7°C — 22°C Musina: 11°C — 22°C Lephalale: 7°C — 20°C Mokopane: 9°C — 16°C North West: Partly cloudy and cold with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers, except in the western regions. Klerksdorp: 2°C — 16°C Potchefstroom: 2°C — 16°C Mahikeng: 2°C — 17°C Rustenburg: 4°C — 17°C Vryburg: 4°C — 17°C Free State: Partly cloudy and cold, with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers, except in the south-west. Bloemfontein: 3°C — 16°C Welkom: 3°C — 16°C Bethlehem: 5°C — 13°C Northern Cape: Partly cloudy and cold to cool. Along the coast, moderate to fresh south-easterly winds are expected. Upington: 1°C — 18°C Kimberley: 3°C — 16°C De Aar: 3°C — 15°C Alexander Bay: 6°C — 18°C Springbok: 2°C — 16°C Calvinia: -1°C — 15°C Sutherland: -6°C — 13°C Western Cape: Partly cloudy and cold to cool. Coastal winds will be moderate, changing from westerly to north-westerly in the morning and becoming light to moderate south-westerly in the afternoon. Winds will strengthen along the south coast. Cape Town: 9°C — 16°C Vredendal: 6°C — 19°C Riversdale: 7°C — 17°C George: 7°C — 16°C Worcester: 4°C — 16°C Beaufort West: 2°C — 15°C Oudtshoorn: 3°C — 16°C Western half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and cool, but cold over the high ground. Coastal winds will start as light to moderate north-westerly, becoming moderate to fresh south-westerly. Eastern half of the Eastern Cape: Partly cloudy and cold, but cool along the coast with light morning rain possible in the extreme east. Coastal winds will be moderate south-westerly, easing in the afternoon. Gqeberha: 10°C — 18°C Makhanda: 8°C — 17°C Cradock: 4°C — 15°C Graaff-Reinet: 2°C — 14°C East London: 13°C — 19°C Port St Johns: 12°C — 17°C Mthatha: 9°C — 16°C Komani: 5°C — 15°C Qonce: 9°C — 16°C KwaZulu-Natal: Cloudy and cool to cold with isolated showers and rain, becoming scattered in the north-west and north-east. Coastal winds will vary, starting light and variable in the south by evening, with moderate to fresh south-westerly winds elsewhere, reaching strong levels in the extreme north by afternoon.
Hindustan Times
31-07-2025
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Flash flood threat prompts emergency declarations in New York, New Jersey
By Joseph Ax Flash flood threat prompts emergency declarations in New York, New Jersey NEW YORK, - New York Governor Kathy Hochul and her acting counterpart in New Jersey said they were declaring states of emergency for areas facing the threat of extreme flash floods forecast on Thursday for much of the Eastern Seaboard. The National Weather Service posted flash flood warnings along parts of the Northeast urban corridor stretching from the Washington-Baltimore region north through Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, and into the New York City metropolitan area. Severe thunderstorm watches were also in effect across much of the Interstate-95 corridor. Up to 5 inches of rain was forecast in the heaviest bands of showers expected across New York City, Long Island and the Hudson River Valley, with rainfall rates that could exceed 2 inches per hour, according to a statement from Hochul. "I am urging all New Yorkers to stay vigilant, stay informed, and use caution as we expect excessive rainfall with the potential for flash flooding," Hochul said. New Jersey was bracing for rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches generally with localized downpours that could produce 5 to 7 inches, acting New Jersey Governor Tahesha Way said in her declaration. She warned that the extreme rainfall could trigger landslides, rock slides and flash flooding of roadways across New Jersey, with additional hazards posed by damaging winds from thunderstorms. "Residents should remain off the roads and indoors unless absolutely necessary," Way, the lieutenant governor, said in a statement. She is temporarily serving as the state's chief executive while Governor Phil Murphy was out of the state on vacation with his family. The Weather Service attributed the storm threat to a cold front that was bringing a combination of unstable air mass and exceptional amounts of atmospheric moisture to the region. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
