More layoffs for NOAA could impact staffing at Monterey weather center
A round of expected layoffs in addition to last month's cuts at NOAA, the nation's weather, ocean, and fisheries agency, will eliminate about one of out four jobs there since the start of the second Trump administration.
One of its national weather centers in Monterey could be impacted again.
On Wednesday, meteorologist Matt Mahle was keeping a close eye on this latest storm to arrive in the region, relying on all the technology at the National Weather Service.
"This is what we would refer to as water vapor," said Mahle. "That's a good way for us to get a snapshot and look at what's happening in the upper levels of the atmosphere, basically how much moisture content we have."
The NWS falls under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Brian Garcia is one of twelve meteorologists at the Monterey center, which sends out severe weather related warnings including those for tsunamis and flash floods to the public, and local government emergency management agencies.
It's a 365 days a year, 24-7 operation.
"Information that comes out of this office allows communities to prepare ahead of time for those floods," said Garcia.
It's not just forecasts and warnings they provide to 11 counties and some 8 million people. Incident meteorologists also deploy to the scenes of incidents, working alongside first responders during massive wildfires and providing critical information.
"This is the instrument itself. This is called a radiosonde," said Mahle.
The small device attached to a helium filled weather balloon ascends tens of thousands of feet, collecting and sending back data in real-time to computers.
"It's giving us the pressure, temperature, relative humidity," said Mahle.
All that information helps provide a more accurate analysis of the conditions.
"We relay that information to the incident management team, they come up with an action plan for the day, and then they kind of go and attack the fire and try to do what they can," said Mahle.
"In those instances, we're supporting our community by embedding with our partners and the departments of Emergency Management at their emergency operations centers," said Garcia.
More than 1,000 NOAA employees have been recently laid off. The Trump administration is reportedly directing NOAA to lay off an additional 1,000 workers.
Many employees have been working in Monterey for decades.
"We're ingrained into this community, and we're invested in this community for the long haul," said Garcia.
For meteorologists like Mahle and Garcia, they're focused on their daily tasks, part of which is to provide critical information during severe weather.
"We're able to use that information to determine if we're going to get clouds to develop, or if a thunderstorm were to develop, or if a fire gets enough heat underneath it, if it will be able to create some of its own weather," said Mahle.
It's a service they provide for public safety.
DOGE has also announced it might terminate the leases of 19 NOAA offices nationwide, including key buildings that generate vital weather forecasts and maintain radar operations.
NOAA declined to comment on the layoffs.
In a statement emailed to CBS News, a spokesperson for the agency said "we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters."
