TAMPA, Fla. — A National Weather Service (NWS) employee that works with the National Hurricane Center’s Model Development and Evaluation is speaking out after recently losing his job in a wave of Department of Government Environment cuts. 

Andy Hazleton said he wasn’t shocked when he got an email last week that he was being laid off, but says cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NWS and the hurricane center could plateau or even set behind advances in hurricane model guidance in recent years.

What You Need To Know

  • 375 probationary employees were recently cut at the National Weather Service (NWS), according to The Associated Press

  • The cuts impacted some contractors and those at NWS who were recently promoted

  • Those fired fear the cuts could impact forecasting during the upcoming hurricane season

  • Hurricane season begins June 1

“People will try and pick up the slack and I know they’ll work hard, the hurricane center folks are the best and they do a good job and I know they will work hard to make sure people stay safe,” said Hazleton. “But when you have fewer people working on things and when people are spread out and expertise is lost, you do run the risk of having forecasts stop improving or get worse.”

In the past week, 375 probationary employees with NWS have been cut, according to The Associated Press.

The group includes contractors, some of which have been working with NWS for years, as well as some NWS employees that were recently promoted.

In his joint address to Congress this week, President Donald Trump touted the cost-saving measures to clean up government waste.

“We have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work. My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable democracy and we will restore true democracy to America again.”

The job cuts to NWS come at a time the NHC is preparing for the upcoming hurricane season.