The Trump administration's drastic cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have sparked outrage among federal employees, who warn that the reductions will have a "devastating" impact on weather forecasts and public safety. According to current and former employees, NOAA has canceled leases for research centers and slashed its staff, with plans to lay off around 50% of its workforce.

The layoffs, which began last week, have already resulted in the loss of hundreds of probationary employees, making up roughly 10% of NOAA's workforce. The agency has also canceled leases for a building housing the National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Maryland, which produces information for the National Weather Service, Air Force, Navy, and Federal Aviation Administration. Additionally, a radar development lab in Oklahoma has also had its lease canceled.

NOAA staffers are demonstrating outside the agency's headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, calling attention to the risks they see ahead as President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) upend an agency that Americans rely on to stay safe from extreme weather events and flooding. "I can tell you the losses will be and already are devastating," a NOAA employee, who was granted anonymity due to the risk of retaliation, told The Verge. "Believe me when I say, you may not know all the work that goes on behind the scenes, but if these cuts continue, you will feel them personally at some point when that work is gone."

The employee warned that with the proposed cuts, some National Weather Service offices won't be able to staff their operations desks full-time, leading to mistakes and potentially costing lives and billions of dollars. Weather balloon launches, which are necessary for collecting data for forecasts, were already suspended in western Alaska last week due to a lack of staffing after layoffs. The sudden layoffs have also left employees with little time to prepare for a transition in workloads, with some given only an hour and a half to leave the office.

Andrew Rosenberg, a former deputy director at NOAA and co-editor of the SciLight newsletter, expressed concerns about the impact of the cuts on the agency's work. He noted that DOGE reportedly intends to cut NOAA's budget by 30% and that Project 2025, a right-wing manifesto for the second Trump administration, proposes dismantling NOAA and privatizing its functions. This could lead to more Americans being put at risk during extreme weather events, as privatizing weather forecasts would turn a free service into something people have to pay for.

Rosenberg and other employees are anticipating further risks to NOAA's work, including the potential for interference with frequencies used for weather forecasting if too much radio frequency spectrum is auctioned off for private use. "Gutting NOAA puts Americans in danger," said the former employee. "Trump and DOGE aren't 'trimming the fat,' they are hobbling the services that all of us rely on every day to stay safe, to do business, and to live our lives peacefully."

The drastic cuts to NOAA have sparked widespread concern about the impact on public safety and the reliability of weather forecasts. As the agency continues to face significant reductions in staff and resources, it remains to be seen how this will affect the accuracy and availability of critical weather information.