Ahead of the official start of hurricane season on June 1, officials at the National Hurricane Center are brushing off concerns over widespread cuts at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offices — and reminding people about the importance of readiness instead.
“ Now is the time for communities all across the United States, all across the Atlantic Basin and East Pacific Basin to prepare and get ready for what is expected to be a busy hurricane season,” said Michael Brennan, the National Hurricane Center’s director.
NOAA is the government agency that oversees the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.
Last month, National Weather Service forecast offices had 20% vacancy rates — twice the vacancy rate of a decade ago. This comes as a result of cuts to thousands of NOAA jobs from the Trump Administration, including about a dozen local forecaster positions in Florida.
There are also concerns that the shrinking of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by the Trump administration, such as the ending of a key grant program used by communities for preparedness, could be disastrous if there is a significant hurricane strike. No officials from FEMA spoke at Friday's press conference.
But officials at NOAA say they’ll be prepared for this year’s expected above-average hurricane activity.
READ MORE: NOAA forecast: 2025 will be another busy hurricane season
“ We are ready here at the Hurricane Center for this hurricane season,” said Daniel Brown, the Chief of the Hurricane Specialist Unit at the National Hurricane Center, when asked about the staffing shortages. “All our forecasters, we're ready for the season as we always have been, and we want you to be ready at home as well.”
NOAA’s seasonal forecast that was released last week is projecting a 60% chance of above-normal hurricane activity with 13 to 19 named storms that are at least tropical storm strength, 6 to 10 of those becoming hurricanes and about three to five becoming major hurricanes.
“ We have sufficient staffing to have people around the clock for every operational shift this hurricane season,” said Jamie Rhome, the deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, speaking on The South Florida Roundup on Friday.
Above-average seasons have been a trend over time, according to National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan.
“ We've been in a very active period, more or less for about the last 30 years in the Atlantic,” Brennan said. “But it's really important to remind everybody in hurricane prone areas that it doesn't really matter what the seasonal forecast says. There are risks of impacts every year. As we saw last year across the entire basin in the Atlantic, we had 10 hurricane landfalls with significant devastating impacts.”
Preparedness
Preparedness for those living in hurricane-prone areas of the country includes finding out if you live in a storm surge evacuation zone or flood-prone area and heeding state and local officials' evacuation orders.
“ It's important to remember that you only have to drive usually tens of miles, not hundreds of miles, to get out of those storm surge evacuation zones to a safe place where you can ride out the storm,” Brennan said.
He said it’s also important to strengthen homes with vulnerabilities, especially mobile homes which may be unsafe to stay in during severe storms. Insurance checkups and having a disaster supply kit, are also part of staying ready for this hurricane season, according to Brennan.
“ You or your family may face several days' worth of non-perishable food, water, critical medicine, medical supplies that you might need, batteries, charging equipment, a battery powered radio, ways to communicate with you and your family if you do face the aftermath of a significant storm, especially with long-term widespread power outages,” Brennan said.
For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit the NOAA website.
For the latest hurricane news and everything you need to know about navigating storm season in South Florida, go to WLRN News' hurricanes hub.
