DOGE destroyed how America forecasts its weather. Everyone is mad about it

DOGE destroyed how America forecasts its weather. Everyone is mad about it Fewer weather balloons and wave-monitoring buoys are being launched to collect data for weather forecasts - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Cuts to federal weather monitoring programs and workforce — enacted during Elon Musk’s government-gutting days at DOGE — are leaving Americans frustrated as forecasts become less and less reliable. People have been taking to TikTok to complain about the poor information presented on weather apps, many of which pull some or all of their information from federal data. "Not sure who needs to hear this, but do not even try to tell me about the weather forecast if all you've done is look at the Apple weather app," one user, named Dawson Holmes, said in a recent video. His post contains a caption encouraging people to look at multiple weather apps to try to ascertain what the forecast might actually look like as different apps draw from different models and sources. Another user, Alec Miller, gave his impression of what a modern weather app might sound like if it were a person. "Rain is like, possible at any time if you like really think about," he says. "I have no f***ing clue what I'm talking about, at all." Experts told Forbes that there are simply fewer weather monitoring instruments being used today than before agencies like the NOAA suffered cuts under the Trump administration. According to the report there are fewer buoys measuring wave conditions than in 2024, and fewer weather balloons being launched to collect data on air pressure, temperature, humidity, and windspeed. That data feeds weather models, which is then used to build forecasts by weather apps and local forecasters. One program, enacted 20 years ago to measure arctic ice, was recently cut by the Trump administration. Plans for a next-generation weather satellite meant to replace two older, faltering structures that may begin to fail in the next several years have been scrapped. Overall, the Trump administration has cut between $1.6 and $1.7 billion in funding from the NOAA’s budget, and more than 800 NOAA workers since February. The impacts on the nation's ability to reliably produce forecasts isn't just an annoyance for TikTokers. Fishers, farmers, pilots, shipping companies, insurers, utility operators — virtually everyone who has to operate in the physical world to do their jobs relies on accurate weather data. Earlier in April, residents of central Kansas had a terrifying brush with the ramifications of a weakened weather monitoring system. Severe storms chucked baseball-sized hail across three counties and two tornadoes spun out of the dangerous weather system, but the regional storm center predicted there would be clear skies. Thomas Winter, emergency manager for Franklin County, Kansas, told Politico that the forecast that day — which came from the storm prediction center in Oklahoma — predicted "a zero percent chance of thunderstorms." Meteorologists have blamed Trump's cuts to the federal workforce for understaffing at National Weather Service offices. Due to the lack of workers, midnight shifts at offices in the West — which typically handle morning weather balloon releases — are understaffed. That forced balloon launches to get pushed back to later shifts, creating holes in the forecast that were not present before DOGE. The Independent has requested comment from The White House, the NOAA, and the Energy Department. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments