California's National Weather Service offices are critically understaffed, with particularly high vacancy rates reported in Hanford and Sacramento. This staffing shortage raises alarms due to the impending fire season and ongoing extreme weather threats. Some offices have resorted to outsourcing evening operations to neighboring facilities, limiting their ability to provide vital weather forecasts. Officials from the Trump administration deny that staffing cuts have harmed operations, but the dire situation has sparked serious concerns, especially after catastrophic flooding in Texas resulted in significant casualties.
The Hanford office has just five meteorologists on staff, compared to eight vacancies, according to numbers supplied by the National Weather Service Employees Organization. That 62% vacancy rate is the worst in the nation, tying with Goodland, Kan.
Some National Weather Service offices in California are among those hit hardest by meteorologist vacancies, heightening concerns as the state contends with another potentially devastating fire season and the ongoing threat of extreme weather.
The staffing shortages have forced some offices to outsource overnight operations to neighboring offices or reduce how often they issue forecast products that help keep decision-makers and first responders abreast of potentially hazardous weather conditions.
California will be a key test case to determine the impact of the cuts, particularly with the fire season intensifying and the ongoing threat of extreme weather.
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