Overview

• DOT concurred with GAO’s call for urgent mitigation, and FAA officials said they are evaluating new service delivery models for fiscal 2026 that could centralize functions and use roughly 64–71 meteorologists.
• NWS is sustaining coverage through overtime, remote backups, temporary duty assignments, help from local forecast offices, and a limited exception to hire despite a federal freeze.
• The current FAA–NWS agreement is set to expire on September 30, and officials are considering a short-term extension to avoid service gaps while a new model is negotiated.
• Staffing remains uneven across Center Weather Service Units, with only eight of 21 sites fully staffed, five lacking a meteorologist-in-charge, and the FAA command center operating with four of six billets filled.
• GAO and industry stakeholders warned that reduced local expertise and forecaster fatigue risk degrading weather decision support, which could contribute to delays and cancellations in an already stressed airspace system.