Twin Cities meteorologist concerned about Trump cuts to NOAA

The firing of hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service employees by the Trump administration has meteorologists and forecasters across the country concerned, including Minnesota’s Paul Douglas.

“NOAA was already short-staffed. These cuts will make it harder to keep your family safe when skies turn threatening,” Douglas wrote recently on social media. “This isn't efficiency. It's insanity” and “potentially deadly.”

Douglas, creator of several private weather forecasting businesses, told MPR News host Cathy Wurzer that the private sector won’t be able to make up for the loss of government weather staff and data.

“I think you're going to wind up with a lot of confusion, a lot of anarchy,” he said. “I do worry about public safety. I mean, it's not even just consumer safety getting the tornado warning in time. It's the safety of our aviation system, shipping, agriculture, making sure this data is available for Minnesota farmers, even [Department of Defense] military preparedness.”

The U.S. sees more severe weather than any other country. Everyone from local TV meteorologists to the U.S. military relies on data from NOAA and NWS to give daily forecasts and for extreme weather alerts, like tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards, which continue to intensify due to climate change.

Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player button.

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