CNN meteorologist and extreme-weather field reporter Derek Van Dam says “there will be chaos” and destruction that could be prevented — were it not for massive staff cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Despite their integral work of forecasting weather and potential natural disasters, NOAA fired hundreds of workers last month — with at least 1,000 more to go — as a result of President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts.

The advisory body is gutting various federal agencies under the stated aim of cutting wasteful public spending. In an interview Monday following deadly tornadoes across the Midwest, however, Van Dam told CNN’s Dana Bash that NOAA is essential.

“NOAA really, truly is the invisible backbone of everything that we consume,” he said. “Not only are they responsible for the availability of the weather and climate data that we pass on to viewers, but also the infrastructure that helps make that data available.”

Van Dam noted that NOAA, which runs the Storm Prediction Center and National Weather Service, launches high-altitude balloons that “feed weather and climate models,” operates radar infrastructure and uses satellites to monitor weather patterns from outer space.

“We have every kind of economic impact that NOAA, the National Weather Service actually touches, from agriculture to air transportation to commerce to tourism,” he added. “It is all dependent on the weather, and if we start cutting back … personnel, there will be chaos.”

“And the butterfly effects down the road are yet to be determined,” Van Dam continued. “Really just take this past weekend, the severe weather outbreak that you’re looking at on your screen. There were over 300 tornado reports, over 650 severe thunderstorm reports.”

The severe weather outbreak in question spawned tornadoes, dust storms and wildfires, killing at least 39 people and destroying hundreds of homes across seven states. Van Dam noted that NOAA dutifully issued alerts to those in the affected areas “a week in advance.”

“When they get issued by these individuals, a human has to see the parameters that define a tornado or a severe thunderstorm,” he told Bash. “So if we start cutting that personnel, the ability to make those warnings becomes less likely — and things could be missed.”

Trump, who tapped his billionaire adviser Elon Musk to lead the federal spending cuts, is also targeting the Department of Education, various essential health agencies and the Social Security Administration — with irate voters now voicing their frustration in public.