The National Weather Service (NWS) is taking significant steps to address a critical staffing shortfall that has plagued the agency since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s term, when federal budget cuts and early retirements led to more than 550 vacant positions nationwide.
Earlier this summer, the agency secured an emergency hiring exemption to fill 126 of those vacancies and began posting job listings on USAJobs.gov. Now, according to internal communications shared during an all-hands meeting on August 4, the agency has received authorization to hire up to 450 employees by September 2026, according to two recently retired NWS veterans.
The mass attrition—driven by the administration’s efforts to downsize federal agencies—had a severe impact on operations, with some forecast offices experiencing vacancy rates as high as 40%. Staffing shortages forced several offices to halt 24/7 operations, including overnight shifts and weather balloon launches, both crucial for collecting real-time data.
Direct Hiring & Freeze Exemptions
During the meeting, staff were informed that positions for meteorologists, hydrologists, and electronics technicians had been officially exempted from the federal hiring freeze, which President Trump recently extended through October 15. The agency was also granted direct hiring authority, which allows more flexibility in recruitment by easing standard bureaucratic constraints.
“This still doesn’t bring the agency back to where it was on January 1, but it’s a good step,” said Brian LaMarre, former Meteorologist-in-Charge of the NWS office in Tampa, Florida. LaMarre, who retired earlier this year after over 30 years with the agency, warned that the long federal hiring process means it will take months to see real improvement, especially as newly hired staff must undergo training.
Technicians and Hydrologists: The Quiet Backbone
Among the first advertised roles are electronics technician positions, which LaMarre emphasized as vital to maintaining the radar and weather monitoring infrastructure not just for NWS forecast offices, but also for the Federal Aviation Administration at key airports. “These are critical operations pieces,” he said. “The publicity is often on the meteorologists, but the technicians are the foundation of what’s done.”
Also included in the hiring wave are hydrologists, whose role is becoming increasingly important in the face of intensifying flood risks. The agency had plans to embed hydrologists within state emergency operations centers to improve real-time flood forecasting—an initiative that was underway in Virginia and nearing launch in Texas before staffing shortages hit.
Not Immediate Relief
While the ability to hire hundreds of staff is being welcomed across the weather community, experts caution that the benefits won’t be felt in time for this year’s hurricane and wildfire seasons.
“Hiring new people to fill critical positions is good news, but it’s not going to help in any concrete way for many months,” said Alan Gerard, a recently retired meteorologist and author of the Balanced Weather blog on Substack. “This is a long game.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the NWS, declined to comment on the internal meeting or hiring plans when contacted by USA TODAY.
As climate-driven extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, restoring the operational capacity of the National Weather Service is seen as essential to public safety and national preparedness.