The US National Weather Service is making changes in anticipation of a potential reduction in staff numbers. The agency is merging two major forecasting units and encouraging employees to consider early retirements. The Weather Prediction Center and the Climate Prediction Center are among the departments being merged, along with a weather service research laboratory and an environmental modeling center. The agency has not yet commented on these developments.

There could be a decrease of 775 to 1,000 employees from the current workforce of over 4,000 through firings, retirements, and voluntary separation programs offered to federal staffers. This situation has caused uncertainty and concern among workers, with some expressing fear about the future.

Even before the current administration, the weather service was reportedly understaffed. President Trump's administration has implemented significant changes, leading to reductions in NOAA's workforce. The consequences of these staff reductions are already being felt, with disruptions to services like weather balloon launches in some locations due to a shortage of available staff.

Weather plays a critical role in various sectors of the US economy, affecting industries such as energy, retail, and transportation. Federal weather data is used by commercial forecasters to provide predictions to private clients and the public.