Surprise weather disasters - coming soon to a neighborhood near you!
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Short staffing at NWS in Kentucky did not affect tornado warnings for
deadly storms, union says
By Andrew Freedman
CNN
May 18, 2025
As a severe weather outbreak became increasingly likely Friday,
meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Jackson,
Kentucky, made the decision to call everyone in and staff the overnight
shift, according to Tom Fahy, who represents the NWS Employees Union.
The Jackson office is one of at least four such facilities across the
country that is so short-staffed that it is no longer routinely
operating 24/7.
This NWS office issued tornado warnings ahead of deadly twisters that
struck the region, particularly in hard-hit Pulaski and Laurel Counties.
Fahy said staff shortages did not affect the accuracy or timeliness of
the tornado warnings that were issued.
"Recognizing the threat of a big severe weather outbreak days in
advance, the (Jackson) staff knew they'd have to bring everyone in to
save lives with warnings and decision support to local officials," said
a NOAA employee who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The NWS has lost more than 560 employees to the Trump administration's
firings, buyouts and early retirement programs designed to thin the
ranks of federal employees. The vacancy rate for meteorologists at the
NWS office in Jackson is 31%, Fahy said.
Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
announced opportunities for 155 meteorologists and other specialized
employees to be transferred to offices that have critically low
staffing levels in the wake of the personnel cuts, including the
Jackson office.
The NOAA staff member warned that the spreading shortages will force
more forecast offices to stop operating 24/7, some as soon as this
week, and could lead to forecast misses and forecaster burnout.
"With so many NWS offices short staffed across the country, it becomes increasingly difficult to shuffle staff for severe weather, flooding,
fires, and the upcoming hurricane season," they said. "Despite heroic
efforts like in (Jackson), you eventually just run out of people until
hiring can begin again."
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