Nebraska’s National Weather Service offices will soon be back at full staff, thanks to a federal hiring push over the next few months.
Entry-level positions have been opened nationwide – a stark reversal from Trump administration staff cuts and layoffs last year.
According to federal data, about 50 people are employed across Nebraska’s three NWS stations – Omaha/Valley, Hastings and North Platte, down from more than 60 before the cuts.
“Each one of those offices have hired and will be hiring new people,” said Suzanne Fortin, the meteorologist in charge at the Omaha/Valley NWS station. “We’ll all be increasing gradually toward full staffing levels.”
On May 1, available roles were announced on the USAJobs website. NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said the goal is to hire 145 entry-level meteorologists across the nation.
“This recruitment effort is made possible by the Direct Hiring Authority granted to the NWS in 2025 and follows an initial hiring surge that began in late 2025,” Grow Cei said.
Applications submitted before the end of May will be considered first. The posting will close in September.
A federal hiring freeze issued in January 2025 blocked many agencies from recruiting employees as staff cuts began, but it did not apply to positions related to public safety. National Weather Service employees were not considered integral to public safety until an executive order was issued in July, allowing the NWS to bypass the hiring freeze. The agency now has authority to rehire about 450 employees.
All 122 NWS forecast offices, including Nebraska’s, are currently “staffed to meet the demands of around-the-clock weather forecasting and localized partner support,” said Grow Cei.
More rehiring began last September. Leadership and specialist positions were also filled in April and March, said Fortin, such as hydrologists and electronic technicians. Others were promoted.
Omaha/Valley was able to hire a new warning coordination meteorologist in March, who Fortin said “interacts with our federal and state and local partners for specific forecast needs.”
As hiring ramps up, Fortin said that Nebraska NWS offices will have sufficient staffing levels to cover severe and hazardous weather.
Fortin said she is happy new graduates and more entry-level positions are coming to the NWS.
“The citizens of Nebraska are really blessed to have some very high-caliber individuals that work at all the offices in Nebraska – and the offices in the adjacent states – who are really focused on severe weather operations and fire weather operations and are there when needed, day or night, to support those hazardous weather operations,” Fortin said.
Fire and rehire
Nebraska had 62 NOAA employees in fiscal year 2024 and 52 in fiscal year 2025 according to federal data from the Office of Personnel Management.
The loss of those 10 employees represents a 16% staffing decrease in Nebraska alone. Last year’s staff cuts – including buyouts and layoffs as part of the “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative – shrank the agency by nearly 600 employees nationwide.
Eric Hunt, a climatologist and professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said that if staffing levels stay low, the life and property of Nebraskans could be impacted.
“I think the general public understands that the National Weather Service, other than probably generally being the best for weather forecast information – they do what they do for public safety and the public good, and them not being able to issue tornado warnings or other severe thunderstorm warnings or flash flood warnings, effectively, could cost lives. Certainly it will cost more property damage.”
He said that created the “political will” to reverse the cuts.
“I do want to give Mike Flood credit for really pushing this issue,” Hunt said. “As a meteorologist, I do sincerely appreciate his efforts and in the staffing issues. That didn't just start last year. Something had been going on for a while, but the DOGE stuff was, in my opinion, very unnecessary.”
As weather balloon launches slowed and staffing needs became critical last spring, Nebraska’s representatives pushed the White House to reconsider cuts.
Second District Rep. Don Bacon wrote a letter to the Department of Commerce secretary in April 2025, expressing “concern about the plan to lay off personnel at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),” which oversees the NWS. Sen. Deb Fischer and 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith told the Nebraska Examiner they would monitor the situation and seek more information on cuts.
Flood spoke with the Trump administration last March about paused weather balloon launches.
“The administration listened, and I’m pleased to say that weather balloons are back up in the air and staffing challenges are being immediately addressed,” Flood said in a press release.
Flood introduced a bill in June 2025 – the Weather Workforce Improvement Act – that would allow the agency to rehire for critical positions. Though it had bipartisan support, Flood’s bill stalled in the House. A similar bill also never left committee.
This restaffing breaks the trend of other federal agencies. Most others did not regain staff following cuts unless a court order was issued.
Fortin said she is grateful that Nebraska’s congressional delegation stepped in.
“They've really done a good job in looking out toward the future of the National Weather Service and ensuring we're going to be integrating new technology as we continue through the next several years,” Fortin said.