NOAA Announces It Will Make Temporary Hires To Fill Holes In Field Offices And For National Weather Service

[hatrack]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it will hire for “mission-critical field positions” amid expert warnings that the National Weather Service has been cut too sharply just as hurricane season arrives.

An agency spokesperson said in a statement the positions will be advertised under a temporary reprieve from the federal government’s widespread hiring pause “to further stabilize frontline operations.” NOAA also said they are filling some field office openings by reassigning staff, including some temporary hires.

The agency didn’t say how many jobs would be posted and refused to provide more details.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cuts gutted NWS and NOAA — which provide daily weather forecasts, up-to-the-minute severe storm warnings, climate monitoring and extreme weather tracking — earlier this year. Hundreds of weather forecasters were fired and other federal NOAA employees were put on probationary status in February, followed by a later round of more than 1,000 cuts at the agency. By April, nearly half of NWS forecast offices had 20% vacancy rates. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also been affected.

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https://apnews.com/article/climate-noaa-weather-service-doge-storms-81414cef1eff76967fe0307a986c5d56