NOAA Personnel Cuts Are A Mistake and Must Be Reversed

When a tree is badly overgrown and in danger of falling over, does a tree surgeon simply lop off the new growth and walk away?

No.  The tree expert examines the tree holistically, determining the alterations required to ensure its health and longevity.  Importantly, the tree surgeon determines which healthy sections should be left alone.

NOAA and Federal agencies dealing with weather and climate are no different. 

They provide functions acutely needed by the American people.  But, without proper management for too many years, problems have developed.  Reforms are needed.  Some programs should be enhanced, some left alone, and others ended.

Like an expert tree surgeon, the administration needs a deep understanding of the entity it wishes to improve before taking action.  

Unfortunately, the current administration has not done this, deciding to simply cut the recent growth (new employees) irrespective of whether their roles are important or critical. 

This is a mistake that may undermine the U.S. government's ability to provide critical weather and climate services to the nation.

Seattle NWS Office

Yesterday, hundreds of NOAA employees, including many in the National Weather Service, were told their positions were ending.  Nearly most were probationary employees, generally those hired during the last year.  Some are in essential jobs.

Local National Weather Service Offices play a key role by providing weather forecast services to local communities.  Most of these offices are understaffed at this time, some seriously so, because of poor management decisions by NOAA/NWS administrators.

By firing dozens of new weather forecasters and support staff, some offices will no longer be fully functional; all offices will be degraded.

There is little doubt that many Federal agencies have been increasingly ineffective and wasteful of resources.   This is certainly true of NOAA, and I have written several papers on this subject and testified in Congress on the issue.  

Members of both parties know about NOAA's problems.   For example, 15 years ago, many of us in the Northwest weather community made the case that our region acutely needed a coastal weather radar.  NOAA management was not interested.  Senator Maria Cantwell had to intervene and force them to do it.  

NOAA has fallen WAY behind in critical technologies such as numerical weather prediction and machine learning.   Its local forecasts are generally inferior to those provided in the private sector.  Its computer resources are inadequate for its mission.  Its bureaucratic structures are often duplicative and ineffective.   NOAA has often rejected working cooperatively with others, such as the academic community.

I am only warming up on its problems😀.

But despite its deficiencies, NOAA does have strengths in many areas, such as atmospheric and ocean observations.  Thunderstorm and severe storm prediction.  Hurricane warning and forecasting.    Its role is still essential.

The simplistic, mindless cutting of new employees is not the way to deal with NOAA's problems.   

Instead, the new administration needs to gather a group of topical experts and users to identify the problems and to propose cost-effective solutions.   Importantly, it needs to immediately reverse the position terminations until a rational, fact-based plan is ready.

We can have a more effective NOAA and probably spend less money, but this can only be done with knowledge of its strengths, weaknesses, and potential.    

NOAA Weather Satellite

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