WASHINGTON (KOAA) — Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper demanded that the Trump administration "fully reinstate all fired employees" at the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to a release on Friday.
Back in late February, hundreds of employees from both the NWS and NOAA were laid off by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cut federal spending.
The layoffs garnered backlash from leaders from around the country, including Sen. Hickenlooper, who has been vocal about NWS' importance to the public's safety during natural disasters.
“NWS employees and the programs they support are essential to the safety of the millions of Americans impacted by storms and disasters each year."
“NWS would be unable to provide accurate and timely forecasts without sufficient staffing levels at weather forecast offices nationwide.”
In March, the Associated Press reported that an additional 1,029 jobs, or 10% of NOAA's workforce, would be cut.
The organization had also sent out a notice that weather balloons in Albany, New York, and Gray, Maine, would be temporarily suspended due to staffing shortages. The balloons are used to collect weather data.
While NWS is reportedly reinstating 126 positions for the upcoming storm season, Hickenlooper said that the effort "falls short of what’s needed to keep Colorado safe."
In early May, NOAA announced that the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database "will be retired, with no updates beyond calendar year 2024."
While the data between 1980 and 2024 will still be available, the information stops there.
The database collects information on how many weather and climate disasters "where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion."
NOAA will also decommission/retire the following:
- NOAA-18 (June 6, 2025)
- Suspension of POES data to Users (June 16, 2025)
- International Ocean Atlas Series Webpage (June 30, 2025)
- NOAA Observing System Council (NOSC) Site (June 30, 2025)
- Manual Dvorak Estimates in the South Atlantic Ocean (July 1, 2025)
As storm season begins for several states across the U.S., Hickenlooper and 14 other U.S. senators wrote a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick demanding answers on how the staffing issues will impact states.
The questions are as follows:
"1. How many of the NWS regional weather forecast offices were impacted by terminations or deferred resignations since January 20, 2025? Please provide a list of affected offices, including how many staff departed and how many remain.
2. With reports of at least one weather forecast office in Goodland, Kansas stopping 24/7 operations due to staffing shortages, how do the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to maintain continued 24/7 operation of forecasting offices without requiring excessive overtime hours from staff?
3. With a requested budget cut of $1.311 billion for NOAA’s overall budget, and a $209 million cut for NWS procurement of weather satellites and infrastructure, how does the Department of Commerce and NOAA plan to ensure adequate staffing and preparedness in the midst of worsening storm seasons, increasing heat waves, and changing weather patterns?
4. As NWS employees are critical to public safety, especially heading into hurricane season, will the Department of Commerce grant an exemption to the hiring freeze to fill these crucial positions?"
The senators ask that all questions be answered by June 10.
The full letter can be found below.
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