ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - What if we didn’t have the powerful National Weather Service (NWS) system to predict storms? What if they didn’t have the option to continue providing warnings?

These are some recent questions raised by federal proposals for the National Weather Service -- the agency tasked with monitoring and predicting severe weather.

Dr. Joe Friday led the National Weather Service for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s, overseeing the modernization of the NWS into today’s weather agency.

Now, he’s worried that staff are being overworked, losing funding, struggling to meet demand and caught in the crosshairs of federal policy cuts. More dire, he’s concerned that the NWS’ ability to predict, monitor and warn about hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires could be reduced by budget cuts.

He’s also one of five former directors of the NWS who signed onto a letter warning about what a reduction in funding or staff to the agency could mean.

Earlier this year, concerns were raised over a 2026 proposed budget that included cuts to the NWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration. Friday spoke to First Alert 4 about why the letter was written, what’s at stake and how these decisions could impact every American from St. Louis to Anchorage.

How does NWS data reach normal folks?

OPEN LETTER:

This version was posted to Reddit:

An Open Letter to the American People From All Former NWS Directors

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, just released by the White House, cuts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric istration (NOAA) by more than 25%. While details aren’t yet available, if earlier indications hold true this budget would essentially eliminate NOAA’s research functions for weather, slash funding for next generation satellite procurement, and severely limit ocean data observations.

Even if the National Weather Service remains level funded, given the interconnectedness of all of the parts of NOAA, there will be impacts to weather forecasting as well. We cannot let this happen.

NOAA’s satellites provide vital information about the formation and pathways of storms. NOAA research on severe storms has paved the way for tools we now use every day, such as Doppler radar and storm modeling advancements. NOAA Corps pilots fly into hurricanes to bring us real-time information on these increasingly severe storms. And data from ocean buoys add breadth and depth to our understanding of the interaction between the atmosphere and the sea.

These proposed cuts come just days after approximately 300 National Weather Service (NWS) employees left the public service to which they had devoted their lives and careers. That’s on top of the approximately 250 NWS employees who were fired as a result of their probationary status in new–often higher-level positions–or took the initial buyout offered by the Trump istration in early February. That leaves the nation’s official weather forecasting entity at a significant deficit–down more than 10% of its staffing– just as we head into the busiest time for severe storm predictions like tornadoes and hurricanes.

NWS staff will have an impossible task to continue its current level of services. Some forecast offices will be so short-staffed that they may be forced to go to part time services. Not only are there fewer forecasters, there are also fewer electronic technicians, who are responsible for maintaining the critical NEXRAD radars. Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life. We know that’s a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines—and by the people who depend on their efforts.

For example, airplanes can’t fly without weather observations and forecasts; ships crossing the oceans rely on storm forecasts to avoid the high seas; farmers rely on seasonal forecasts to plant and harvest their crops which feed us. Additionally, dam and reservoir operators rely on rainfall and snowfall forecasts to manage the water supply; fishermen in the $320 billion commercial fisheries sector rely on forecasts to stay safe as do tourism and recreational boating communities. Perhaps most importantly, NWS issues all of the tornado warnings, hurricane warnings, flood warnings, extreme wildfire conditions, and other information during extreme weather events. The dedicated staff at weather forecast offices around the country work 24/7/365 to make sure you get that information.

A word about these public servants. They aren’t nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are your neighbors; your friends; the people who provide lifesaving information when you need it. They live and work in every community in the country. Their dedication to public service - and public safety - is unparalleled. They will often sleep in weather forecast offices to make sure poor weather conditions don’t stop them from being on time for their shifts to do their critical work. They stay at their stations during hurricanes, tornadoes and other severe storms, even when extreme weather affects their own families. They make sure the complicated technology, like the radars we all see on television or on our apps, stay up and operating. They are the everyday heroes that often go unsung.

The NWS heroes who remain know that lives and livelihoods literally depend on the accuracy of weather forecasts as well as the prompt dissemination of that information to the people who need it. As former directors of the National Weather Service, we know firsthand what it takes to make accurate forecasts happen and we stand united against the loss of staff and resources at NWS and are deeply concerned about NOAA as a whole. us and raise your voice too.

Louis Uccellini, Ph.D., NWS Director 2013-2022

Jack Hayes, Ph.D., NWS Director 2007-2012

Brigadier General D.L. Johnson, USAF (Ret),NWS Director 2004-2007

Brigadier General John J. Kelly Jr., USAF (Ret), NWS Director 1998-2004

E.W. (Joe) Friday, Ph.D., Colonel USAF (Ret), NWS Director, 1988-1997

How proposed NWS affect you:

Avery Martinez covers water, ag & the environment for First Alert 4. He is also a Report for America Corps member, as well as a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. His coverage ranges from EPA s to corn farms and hunting concerns, and local water rates to rancher mental health.

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