KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told KSHB 41 on Wednesday that leadership is addressing staffing concerns.
"NOAA leadership is taking steps to address those who took a voluntary early retirement option. NWS continues to conduct short-term Temporary Duty assignments (TDYs) and is in the process of conducting a series of Reassignment Opportunity Notices (RONs) to fill roles at NWS field locations with the greatest operational need," a spokesperson wrote in an email statement.
In an effort to shrink the federal government, NOAA and the National Weather Service lost upwards of 600 jobs, according to an NBC News report.
"If the cuts are too deep, if there’s too many vacancies, you’re going to have a tough time doing your job," Lynn Maximuk said, a Former Central Region Director for the National Weather Service.
For 40 years, Maximuk worked for the National Weather Service as a meteorologist, meteorologist in charge at the Pleasant Hill, Missouri, Office, and central region director.
"Weather is probably the only thing that impacts you every single day of your life. It determines what clothes you’re going to wear, determines what you’re going to do in the day," he explained. "Until recently, the weather service was down about 10% in positions."
That number has grown to 20%.
Pleasant Hill is home to the Kansas City area office. According to its website, there are five total vacancies in positions.
In KSHB 41's request for information, NOAA did not explain if these vacancies are related to federal cuts.
Maximuk told KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa he's seen much organizational reform in the agency.
"There were many more offices than there are now. Through scientific research, we developed new technologies, with new radars, new communication systems, new computer systems, new forecast models," Maximuk explained when he entered the agency in the 1970s. "That enabled us to streamline the number of offices that we had and move to a more professional workforce, and have larger forecast centers that we have across the country."
Consolidation is nothing new, including working with new administrations.
He worked under several different Presidential Administrations and said that later in his career, his job as a director became more political.
"The funding is always kind of level in the weather service. It’s something if you do a good job, it’s kind of hard to get Congress's attention to get additional funds," he added. "You had to fight for political life, just because everything evolved that way."
He told KSHB 41 there's one constant throughout the National Weather Service: through different organizational transition periods, the meteorologists dedicated themselves to getting the job done.
"We protect life and property, that’s our goal," he said. "That’s their life, and they love it and they work hard."
Staffing shortages and the ability to do one's job are a burden that meteorologists often bear, according to Maximuk.
"If they can’t do the best they can do, they’re short people, things aren’t working out quite right, they just get stressed," he added. "'Did I give that warning early enough?' It's quite a challenge for the managers to keep people upbeat."
NOAA told KSHB 41 that it anticipates advertising some more jobs in the near future.
"...Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the Department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize frontline operations," the spokesperson went on to add in the statement.
No matter what, Maximuk says, there is no reason to believe this transition period will create any danger for the public relying on their service.
"It’s going to settle out," he added. "You have some of the most dedicated people you have doing it. I don’t think you’re going to have to worry about things going completely in the dumper."
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