Overview

• The Trump administration has reduced National Weather Service staffing from 4,369 to 3,757 employees through layoffs and buyouts this year.
• Hanford and Sacramento forecast offices face vacancy rates of about 62% and 50% respectively, compromising their ability to operate round-the-clock.
• Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla have sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NOAA acting administrator Laura Grimm demanding a reversal of the cuts.
• NOAA says it is deploying temporary job postings, internal reassignments and mission-critical hiring exemptions to shore up understaffed offices.
• California is contending with ten active wildfires, including the 80,000-acre Madre fire, and agriculture leaders warn losses of vital soil moisture and temperature forecasts could harm crop yields.