With California Weather Service Offices at ‘Half Strength,’ Lawmakers Want Cuts Reversed

Several members of the Bay Area’s congressional delegation are pressing the Trump administration to reverse firings at the National Weather Service offices in Sacramento and Hanford that curtailed their 24-hour operations.

Eight Bay Area representatives were among 23 California Democrats who signed a letter criticizing the “terminations, hiring freezes, and vacancies” that led the weather service to reduce services at these forecast offices.

“These service reductions represent the beginning of a public safety crisis with potentially catastrophic consequences if the NWS is unable to retain the staff necessary to maintain around-the-clock weather monitoring in California,” the letter said. “Across the state’s airports, highways, farms, and reservoirs, accurate, reliable, and timely weather forecasting is critical for every Californian.”

Lawmakers addressed the letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Laura Grimm, acting administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is housed in the Commerce Department. The letter urged them to halt any service reductions, reinstate terminated workers and lift the federal hiring freeze for NWS.

During his confirmation hearing, Lutnick said he did not want to dismantle the weather service, but he thinks it can be more efficient and less expensive.

Both offices are hollowed out and operating at “half strength as we approach the peak of wildfire season,” the letter said, with seven of 16 meteorologist positions sitting vacant in Sacramento and eight out of 13 empty in Hanford.

“Slashing staffing in half at the offices responsible for predicting wildfires, atmospheric rivers, and natural disasters is unacceptable, puts thousands of lives at risk, and does nothing to increase government efficiency,” the letter said.

The NWS’s Hanford office services the San Joaquin Valley, and the Sacramento office forecasts for a large region that includes 22 counties and 4 million residents.

The letter pointed to reports that as many as 500 employees have been terminated or retired early since President Donald Trump took office, which would represent a 12% reduction in staffing.