Veteran meteorologist warns NWS cuts could jeopardize hurricane forecasts
As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season ramps up, a longtime Florida meteorologist is sounding the alarm over staffing cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS). Miami’s NBC6 meteorologist John Morales warned that reductions in personnel and resources could degrade the accuracy of storm forecasts, putting lives and property at greater risk. It comes as forecasters predict an above-average season in 2025.
Morales’ warning
Morales shared a 2019 clip where he correctly predicted Hurricane Dorian’s last-minute turn away from Florida, citing then-robust data from the NWS. But this year, he said, he’s not confident he’ll have the tools to do the same.
“Confidently, I went on TV and I told you, ‘It’s going to turn. You don’t need to worry. It is going to turn,'” Morales said, referencing his accurate prediction with the help of the NWS.
“And I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year, because of cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general,” Morales added. “This is a multigenerational impact on science in this country.”
How will this affect NWS operations?
The warning comes amid a wave of layoffs and early retirements triggered by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Morales said that hurricane forecasting efforts have already been strained, and this season could be even more limited.
“There is a chance that … NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Hurricane Hunter aircraft will not be able to fly this year. And with less reconnaissance missions, we may be flying blind. And we may not know how strong a hurricane is before it reaches a coastline,” Morales said.
In addition to fewer aircraft flights, he cited a roughly 20% drop in weather balloon launches — vital tools for gathering atmospheric data.
Current staffing conditions in Florida
Morales estimates that NWS offices in central and southern Florida are currently 20% to 40% understaffed. That shortage, he said, is already impacting forecast quality.
“What we’re starting to see is that the quality of the forecast is becoming degraded because of some of these cuts,” Morales said.
Nearly 600 NWS positions have been eliminated under DOGE-related cuts, although the agency announced plans to rehire about 125 meteorologists in time for hurricane season.
The cuts are part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to shrink federal spending, including a proposed $1.1 billion rescission targeting public broadcasting (including NPR and PBS) and over $9 billion in foreign aid and scientific research. Both news outlets are suing the administration to block measures affecting their funding.
The role of Project 2025
Looking ahead, meteorologists and environmental groups are monitoring Project 2025, a policy roadmap linked to Trump’s second-term agenda. The plan calls for sweeping deregulation and even the dismantling of NOAA entirely, which could leave the U.S. without its primary source of real-time storm and climate data.
What the forecasting community is saying
A current NWS forecaster, speaking anonymously to HuffPost in March 2025, warned that the public may not realize how much forecasting relies on the work of behind-the-scenes government scientists.
“Everything people see on TV or hear from The Weather Channel, all that information comes from the National Weather Service,” the forecaster said. “We’re the ones behind the scenes that you may not see.”
Morales urged viewers to push back on the cuts and contact their lawmakers.
“I just want you to know that what you need to do is call your representatives and make sure that these cuts are stopped,” he said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
