The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center warned Monday of a major storm system in the central U.S. that could bring “high winds, blizzard conditions, severe weather, and a concern for some flash flooding”—marking the first big test for federal forecasters after the Trump administration cut staffing.
Two men cross a snowy Dearborn Street in Chicago, the United States, on Feb. 12, 2025, ahead of ... [+]
The Weather Prediction Center said in a social media post early Monday the Midwest and Plains will face threats of “blizzard conditions, high winds, flash flooding, severe weather, dust storms, and critical to extreme fire weather conditions.”
The late-season winter storm may also bring heavy snow and winds of 50 to 70 mph to the eastern Plains, NWS Boulder said on X.
All of Nebraska, Kansas, Tennessee and Mississippi were under weather warnings, watches or advisories Monday afternoon, along with most of Texas, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Iowa and New Mexico.
Most of the advisories in southern states were for wind, while warnings in Nebraska, Minnesota, Colorado and Iowa focused largely on winter weather and blizzard potential.
The storm is the first major one predicted to hit the U.S. since as many as 1,300 employees were estimated to be fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week, according to the Associated Press, leading to concerns of whether the agency’s ability to forecast and warn of storms would be hurt by the reductions, which amounted to around 10% of the agency.
In response to Forbes’ request for comment on how the staff reductions could impact storm warnings or coverage, a NWS spokesperson said they cannot discuss internal personnel matters but remain committed to their mission.
NOAA’s website states that as of Monday “journalists might experience delays in responses to media inquiries and information requests” because of layoffs affecting media staff and subject matter experts.
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Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., said in a statement last Thursday that the decision to terminate hundreds of NOAA employees, including forecasters, “will only endanger American lives going forward.” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said in a statement after the firings that “gutting NOAA without any plan weakens Colorado’s ability to respond to wildfires or track the West’s worsening drought,” adding: “Science and weather services for Americans is not government waste.” One NOAA employee who was fired, Tom Di Liberto, told Local 10 in Florida the staff reductions were dangerous, saying “we are less safe than we were yesterday” and “these needless cuts before we get into tornado season and hurricane season serve no purpose besides making us less prepared for weather extremes and save us no money.”
“Even a temporary or partial interruption in NOAA/NWS 24/7/365 lifesaving services—which are often used in an hour-by-hour (even minute-by-minute) context during extreme weather events and other emergencies—would be devastating,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist who studies extreme events, said in a post on X responding to news of the reductions. He continued: “To be clear: If there were to be large staffing reductions at NOAA and NWS … there will be people who die in extreme weather events & related disasters who would not have otherwise.”
NOAA is embedded in the Commerce Department and provides services from “daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce.”
The layoffs at NOAA are part of the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal workforce and save money, which have largely been led by the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk. DOGE has drawn regular controversy, criticism and legal challenges for its ordering of mass staff reductions and requests to access sensitive information. Despite that, Trump has supported the agency and praised it for “finding levels of fraud and waste and abuse like, I think, nobody ever thought possible. As of Sunday, DOGE claimed it has saved the U.S. $105 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletion workforce reductions, and more. News outlets have cast doubt on DOGE’s savings claims, however, as the website has been riddled with errors and edited at least twice to remove references to billions in savings that were incorrectly listed, The New York Times reported Monday.
The Carolinas remained under a fire weather statement as of Monday afternoon, as did part of Georgia, while Texas was largely under red flag warnings and wind advisories.
Hundreds of weather forecasters and NOAA staff fired in DOGE cuts (Associated Press)
South Florida hurricane experts warn NOAA cuts could weaken forecasting (Local 10)