Staff shortages and new layers of bureaucracy are suffocating NOAA and threatening its ability to accurately predict extreme weather events, ensure U.S. ports stay open and safeguard the nation’s commercial and recreational fisheries, say current and former agency officials. The coil around NOAA squeezes in two ways, they say. The first is personnel. More than 1,000 NOAA employees have left the agency since the start of the Trump administration, and the empty desks have led to staffing issues in key weather service offices — just as hurricane season approaches. For example, NOAA’s Global Forecast System — which governments and industries worldwide rely upon — has “measurably declined” in recent weeks because staff cuts have meant fewer weather balloon launches, said Tim Gallaudet, who served as acting NOAA administrator in the first Trump administration.

Other NOAA news:

• VC Reporter (Ventura, Calif.): NOAA cuts raise alarms: Local experts warn of ecological impacts caused by reduced federal funding