Government Shutdown Impacts Weather Enterprise

The NOAA weather agencies, including the Tsunami Warning Center, National Hurricane Center, Space Weather Forecast Center, and National Weather Service will continue to operate during the government shutdown as essential services. However, non-essential services like replying to social media comments, won't occur. Image: NWS — The NOAA weather agencies, including the Tsunami Warning Center, National Hurricane Center, Space Weather Forecast Center, and National Weather Service will continue to operate during the government shutdown as essential services. However, non-essential services like replying to social media comments, won’t occur. Image: NWS

With the US government shutdown due to failure to pass a spending bill, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Weather Service are being impacted. While the weather agencies, including the National Hurricane Center, are considered “essential services” and continue to operate, meteorologists are working there unpaid with many programs suspended or cancelled until the shutdown concludes. The shutdown also impacts a plan by the Trump administration to hire hundreds of meteorologists to join the agencies in one of the largest hiring sprees for the agency.

The National Weather Service continues to issue weather watches and warnings despite the government shutdown. Image: Weatherboy

The National Weather Service released a statement yesterday; it says, “Due to the government shutdown, all public National Weather Service activities have been canceled or postponed until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience. The NWS (National Weather Service) will continue to provide critical forecast, watch, and warning information to protect life and property throughout the shutdown.”

Because meteorologists with NOAA/NWS/NHC continue to work through the shutdown without pay, many are concerned about their personal finances. One meteorologist from the National Hurricane Center wrote on X, “I will be working with the promise of later pay but wondering I can make mortgage payments in a couple weeks. It will be over by then – right?”.

In past government shutdowns, including one in 2013 , essential employees were paid retroactively with the “promise of pay”. It is assumed the Trump administration will follow the actions of the prior administrations and pay the meteorologists once the shutdown is resolved.

One of many social media account messages that appear online in light of the government shutdown. Image: NOAA — One of many social media account and website messages that appear online in light of the government shutdown. Image: NOAA

The longest government shutdown was in 2018-2019 when President Trump was in office; that 35 day stand-off occurred due a stand-off on expanding barriers along the U.S./Mexico border. That shut down lasted 35 days. Before that, the longest shutdown occurred in 1995-1996 when Bill Clinton was President. A dispute involving forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office led to a shutdown that stretched from December 5 through January 6.

In August, the Trump administration announced a hiring spree for the government weather agency. More than 440 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians are needed to staff up to the level the White House would like to see; this includes 126 previously approved “high-priority” positions that NOAA said was “front-line mission critical.”

With the government shut down, activities involved in recruiting and staffing those positions will be on hold.