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Staring down another above-average hurricane season, America's weather forecasting and disaster response agencies are more hollowed out than ever before – and that could leave tens of millions of Americans more vulnerable to these massive storms.
Both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are entering the season in turmoil, having lost thousands of experts and staff since President Donald Trump took office in January, intent on culling the federal workforce.
Many of those lost have been specialists in weather forecasting, storm response and resilience, among other skills involved in hurricane preparation, prediction and recovery.
Another above-average hurricane season is in store this year, NOAA announced Thursday morning: 13 to 19 named storms, 6 to 10 of which will become hurricanes, and 3 to 5 of these may grow to major hurricane intensity of Category 3 or stronger. NOAA said they have 70% confidence in this particular outlook.
An average Atlantic hurricane season would be 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes and 3 become major hurricanes.
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📷: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times/Redux; Brad Vest/Getty Images; William Widmer/The New York Times/Redux
