With hurricane season just around the corner, meteorologists fear that National Weather Service staffing shortages could put people across the nation at risk when severe weather hits.
What's happening?
The NWS does much more than provide forecasts and let you know if you should grab an umbrella before leaving the house. Among its many responsibilities is providing warnings before threatening weather events hit, such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
But a combination of layoffs, retirements, and existing vacancies has left many offices without a leader in place, CNN reported in early May. Roughly a quarter of the 122 NWS offices are currently without a meteorologist-in-charge, the most senior position at each location.
Among the NWS offices without a meteorologist-in-charge are those that cover New York City, as well as hurricane-prone population centers such as Houston and Tampa. The Houston-Galveston office doesn't have any managers currently on staff, a staffer told CNN.
"They're usually the glue that holds it together," the staffer said about the senior leaders.
Chief meteorologists are also the NWS members who often brief the media, which is invaluable when trying to communicate necessary information to the public before, during, and after an extreme weather event.
One Kansas office is no longer operating 24 hours a day, per CNN, with several more likely to shift away from around-the-clock operations unless changes occur.
Why is this important?
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June through November. This year, changing ocean temperatures have left forecasters befuddled as to how many hurricanes could form, and how intense they are likely to be.
If the last decade is any indication, there could be a high number of storms. From 1991 to 2020, there has been an average of 14 storms during hurricane season, according to the Weather Channel. That number has been met or exceeded each year after 2015, and three of the last five hurricane seasons saw more than 20 storms.
Although hurricanes and other severe weather events have always existed, the intensity of such events has grown in recent years. Scientists have explained that rising global temperatures caused by human-generated pollution supercharge the conditions that power these dangerous weather occurrences.
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Move somewhere else 🌎 What can I do about hurricanes?
If you live in a hurricane-prone area, it's best to have an emergency kit ready and to know what to do in case a storm hits near you.
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