After years of deep staff cuts, the U.S. National Weather Service is bringing back 450 meteorologists, hydrologists, and radar techs. The move comes as deadly floods and a potentially above-normal 2025 hurricane season loom.
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) is set to restore hundreds of jobs that were slashed during Donald Trump’s second term, lawmakers announced Tuesday — a move that comes as the country battles a summer of deadly weather extremes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the NWS, plans to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists, and radar technicians, according to U.S. Representatives Mike Flood, a Nebraska Republican, and Eric Sorensen, an Illinois Democrat.
The positions were cut under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting initiative once led by billionaire Elon Musk before he resigned from the administration months into the role. Flood and Sorensen have since introduced legislation that would permanently classify NWS jobs as “critical to public safety,” shielding them from future layoffs or early retirements.
“Hundreds of unfilled positions have forced NWS offices to cancel weather balloon launches, skip overnight shifts, and stretch remaining staff to the breaking point,” Sorensen said.
Missouri Republican Mark Alford also praised the decision, calling the 450 hires “front-line mission critical.”
CNN, which first reported the story, said the hiring figure includes 126 positions already approved by NOAA, part of the U.S. Commerce Department. Officials from NOAA and the NWS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since Trump’s cost-cutting measures took effect, more than 550 jobs have been lost at the NWS, leaving the agency with fewer than 4,000 employees nationwide, CNN reported.
The hiring reversal comes just weeks after catastrophic flash floods tore through Texas Hill Country, killing at least 137 people. The disaster sparked questions about whether severe staffing shortages at local NWS offices played a role in the scale of the tragedy. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has urged the Commerce Department’s acting inspector general to investigate whether the NWS’s San Antonio office lacked the staff needed to provide timely, accurate warnings.
In May, NWS Director Ken Graham said deep staffing and budget cuts at NOAA would not affect the government’s ability to forecast dangerous storms. Still, the agency has forecast an above-average 2025 hurricane season.
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