Roundybout Posted February 28 Posted February 28 President Elon has decided that the National Weather Service is communism and needs to be eliminated. So much for one of the must useful and important sources of warning and data for farmers, airports, and other sectors. I’ll look forward to paying $3.99/week for Grok Weather pretty soon after Elon gives himself the contract. 1
SCBills Posted February 28 Posted February 28 You’re going to have to pick and choose what federal employees you want to go crazy about losing their jobs, because it can’t just be “everyone”.
aristocrat Posted February 28 Posted February 28 56 minutes ago, Roundybout said: It’s 5 percent of the work force. 1 1
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 Just now, aristocrat said: It’s 5 percent of the work force. They are already extremely understaffed 9 minutes ago, SCBills said: You’re going to have to pick and choose what federal employees you want to go crazy about losing their jobs, because it can’t just be “everyone”. The NWS is objectively good and should not be touched. 1
dgrochester55 Posted February 28 Posted February 28 (edited) So they are cutting back on staff, mostly for probationary employees (which I would still question), but the thread title says "so much for the national weather service." with an implication that they will be "NO WEATHER FORECASTING FOR ANYONE!!!" This is how we Propaganda!!!!! Here is an article with the real version of the story. The cuts are 10 percent of employees which are mostly probational ones. Agree or disagree if you would like, but base it on the real numbers instead of the OP fearmongering. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/noaa-doge-1.7471187 Edit: If they are already understaffed as the OP says, I don't like the decision either, I just think that a headline with the real news is enough instead of an extreme exaggeration. Edited February 28 by dgrochester55 1
aristocrat Posted February 28 Posted February 28 1 minute ago, Roundybout said: They are already extremely understaffed The NWS is objectively good and should not be touched. You’d have to really convince me they need 5000 weather forecasters on staff. 1
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 9 minutes ago, aristocrat said: You’d have to really convince me they need 5000 weather forecasters on staff. When you consider that there are 122 NWS offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guam, all operating 24/7, constantly processing data, not to mention long range forecasting, climate analysis, drought monitoring, and other tasks, it’s pretty easy. This also doesn’t include specialty offices like the Storm Prediction Center.
stevestojan Posted February 28 Posted February 28 Honest question: I use NOAA to track big storms - did so more so when I lived in South Florida and when I lived in VB of course, but can someone tell me what detriment to the country these layoffs will have? I’m completely ignorant to the topic so this isn’t a gotcha exercise. I am not so liberal that I can’t see that there is a ton of fat in the federal government. I think the way it’s being done is insane - and at times cruel (President Musk using a chainsaw after many people lost their livelihoods and life just got flipped upside down - and that robot is making jokes) - but putting that aside somehow, what does this mass layoff do to negatively effect the country? I’ll hang up and listen.
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 9 minutes ago, stevestojan said: Honest question: I use NOAA to track big storms - did so more so when I lived in South Florida and when I lived in VB of course, but can someone tell me what detriment to the country these layoffs will have? I’m completely ignorant to the topic so this isn’t a gotcha exercise. I am not so liberal that I can’t see that there is a ton of fat in the federal government. I think the way it’s being done is insane - and at times cruel (President Musk using a chainsaw after many people lost their livelihoods and life just got flipped upside down - and that robot is making jokes) - but putting that aside somehow, what does this mass layoff do to negatively effect the country? I’ll hang up and listen. The NWS is already woefully understaffed. It’s going to create the same issue as we see with air traffic controllers being understaffed and overworked. We are already seeing NWS cancel programs like SKYWARN Spotter training. I’m a spotter; the training is about three hours a year at a local fire hall. Volunteer training is very important in severe weather events. Several offices have cancelled their trainings because of funding. In addition, the funding cuts will prevent NWS staff from conducting storm surveys. This affects private insurance payouts. It also affects how storm data is analyzed in the future to create better warnings.
LDD Posted February 28 Posted February 28 NOAA plays a massive role in the maritime industry, not only with forecasting but also with buoy data which is extremely useful information for mariners. 3
JDHillFan Posted February 28 Posted February 28 16 minutes ago, Roundybout said: The NWS is already woefully understaffed. “Critics say”. How many employees are needed at NWS? Anyone can repeat the claim over and over. Got data?
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 13 minutes ago, JDHillFan said: “Critics say”. How many employees are needed at NWS? Anyone can repeat the claim over and over. Got data? Very simply, they don’t have enough employees to meet the full workload. This was known years ago. https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/357524-national-weather-service-down-hundreds-of-staffers-amid-extreme/amp/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/06/02/report-nws-meteorologists-are-fatigued-and-demoralized-due-to-understaffing/
JDHillFan Posted February 28 Posted February 28 20 minutes ago, Roundybout said: Very simply, they don’t have enough employees to meet the full workload. This was known years ago. https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/357524-national-weather-service-down-hundreds-of-staffers-amid-extreme/amp/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/06/02/report-nws-meteorologists-are-fatigued-and-demoralized-due-to-understaffing/ 2017. Lol.
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 2 minutes ago, JDHillFan said: 2017. Lol. Yes…explaining that the NWS was understaffed YEARS ago and now the problem is only going to be worse. Savvy?
stevestojan Posted February 28 Posted February 28 1 hour ago, Roundybout said: The NWS is already woefully understaffed. It’s going to create the same issue as we see with air traffic controllers being understaffed and overworked. We are already seeing NWS cancel programs like SKYWARN Spotter training. I’m a spotter; the training is about three hours a year at a local fire hall. Volunteer training is very important in severe weather events. Several offices have cancelled their trainings because of funding. In addition, the funding cuts will prevent NWS staff from conducting storm surveys. This affects private insurance payouts. It also affects how storm data is analyzed in the future to create better warnings. The same issue with Air traffic controllers? I fly quite a bit and from what you said in your post, nothing from these cuts would potentially impact me (kill me) like cuts to an already overworked ATC team. I read your entire post but I still don’t see the huge detriment. Fewer storm warnings? It seems there’s a “severe thunderstorm warning” every 8 seconds. It’s like hospital alarms for nurses. When everything is an emergency, nothing is so we become deaf to them. Also, what actions to most people take to these warnings? If nhc.noaa.gov is still up and running for hurricane tracking, I’m good. Im honestly not seeing how this is horrible (other than people losing income, which I sympathize with). 1
Roundybout Posted February 28 Author Posted February 28 6 minutes ago, stevestojan said: The same issue with Air traffic controllers? I fly quite a bit and from what you said in your post, nothing from these cuts would potentially impact me (kill me) like cuts to an already overworked ATC team. I read your entire post but I still don’t see the huge detriment. Fewer storm warnings? It seems there’s a “severe thunderstorm warning” every 8 seconds. It’s like hospital alarms for nurses. When everything is an emergency, nothing is so we become deaf to them. Also, what actions to most people take to these warnings? If nhc.noaa.gov is still up and running for hurricane tracking, I’m good. Im honestly not seeing how this is horrible (other than people losing income, which I sympathize with). You’re missing the point. It’s not about MORE warnings, it’s about higher quality warnings and more ADVANCED warnings to give people as much time to prepare as possible. This takes constant research and study. As other posters here have said, NWS also goes far beyond weather warnings. The weather data they record and release is crucial for a variety of industries, including farming.
aristocrat Posted February 28 Posted February 28 58 minutes ago, Roundybout said: Very simply, they don’t have enough employees to meet the full workload. This was known years ago. https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/357524-national-weather-service-down-hundreds-of-staffers-amid-extreme/amp/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/06/02/report-nws-meteorologists-are-fatigued-and-demoralized-due-to-understaffing/ With modern tech almost all companies are downsizing as tech replaces workers. Somehow the federal government can’t stand to lose employees only gain them. It doesn’t make sense.
stevestojan Posted February 28 Posted February 28 10 minutes ago, Roundybout said: You’re missing the point. It’s not about MORE warnings, it’s about higher quality warnings and more ADVANCED warnings to give people as much time to prepare as possible. This takes constant research and study. As other posters here have said, NWS also goes far beyond weather warnings. The weather data they record and release is crucial for a variety of industries, including farming. I mean at some point cuts have to be made. We’re in an unbelievable amount of debt as a country. “You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.” So while those things you mentioned seem like nice to haves, I’m much more concerned about Trump having a screaming match with an allied President while his lapdog VP tells the man he needs to say thank you like he’s talking to a child. I’m more concerned that he’s literally trying to remove the 14th amendment, and he might actually do it; Disgusting. He’s using AI to show what a “Trump Gaza” would look like and signing orders about ***** paper straws. He’s a giant man child, just going along with President Musk’s whims, but this one still doesn’t seem like the worst areas to make some much needed cuts. We can hate the man. We can hate most of his decisions. We can certainly hate the methods he uses. Etc etc. But we can’t hate every idea/action just because it was his administration. That turns us into “orange man bad” and makes us no better than the righties who call us commies and worse. Sorry, but some fat needs to be cut. And this one doesn’t seem so off to me. 1
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