The National Hurricane Center is “fully staffed” and any suggestion that the Trump administration fired meteorologists at the National Weather Service is “fake news,” “preposterous and silly,” Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick testified to Congress this week.
But the administration did fire meteorologists, and the nation’s top hurricane forecasting office is not fully staffed as the season is underway.
The NHC, like many other parts of the NWS, has a staffing shortfall currently, with five vacancies at the center in Miami, including at least four meteorologists.
None of the NHC positions can be filled due to the federal hiring freeze, though the NWS was able to get an exemption for 126 mission-critical vacancies at other forecast offices around the country.
The critical staffing issues — which have meant some forecast offices are no longer monitoring the weather 24/7 or launching twice-daily weather balloons — have raised concerns that forecast accuracy will suffer during this hurricane season.
“We are fully, fully staffed. There are no openings on the National Hurricane Center, zero. It is fully staffed,” Lutnick said before a Senate appropriations subcommittee during hearings on the Commerce Department budget on Wednesday.
Lutnick claimed again on Thursday the NHC is “fully staffed,” and falsely stated local weather service forecast offices are fully staffed in an appearance before the House Appropriations Committee.
“It is fake news and inappropriate to suggest a single meteorologist or hydrologist was fired,” Lutnick said. “That is preposterous and silly.”
The Trump administration cut about 100 jobs at the NWS, including meteorologists and hydrologists, according to a fact sheet from Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office.
The NWS lost even more meteorologists, including many with decades of experience, from early retirement and other incentives the Trump administration offered in order to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
In total, the agency has lost about 560 employees during the course of the administration, bringing total staffing levels below 4,000, according to the NWS Employees Organization. This is about 18% below “necessary staffing levels” and 33% below “normal” staffing levels.
Many local NWS offices are so short on meteorologists in the wake of Trump administration firings, buyouts and early retirement incentives that the agency has authorized internal transfers to fill critical gaps, in addition to the 126 new hires.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reiterated Lutnick’s claims in a Thursday statement: “The National Hurricane Center is fully staffed to meet the rigorous demands of the hurricane season,” spokesperson Kim Doster said. “Future positions that may be advertised at the NHC will provide additional support and a deeper bench for our ongoing around-the-clock operations.”
A Commerce Department spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
The hurricane center’s staff website shows all but one of its vacancies, which include at least one hurricane specialist, one hurricane forecaster and two meteorologist/programmers. One staff member who took an early retirement offer is still listed on the roster, according to an NWS employee familiar with the matter.
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