NOAA’s work has kept fisheries from collapsing, helped coastal ecosystems survive extreme heat and battled invasive species, among many other tasks essential to coastal economies.

This hurricane season, there could be fewer meteorologists collecting data and designing models due to staffing cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

DeSantis started a DOGE Task Force to audit state agencies, universities, and local governments, saying Florida was “DOGE before DOGE was cool.” Despite that, he offered some criticism of the tactics on Friday.

Concerns are rising in Florida after hundreds of forecasters, scientists and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were reportedly laid off Thursday, amid sweeping federal cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s DOGE effort.

Vijay Tallapragada, Senior Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Environmental Modeling Center, oversees storm models supported by cloud computing power. Two days before Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida in late September,

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he supports DOGE, but also praised the National Hurricane Center and said it will probably be "OK."

This hurricane season, there could be fewer meteorologists collecting data and designing models due to staffing cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Mark Eakin, a recently retired NOAA veteran who ran its Coral Reef Watch program for many years, told the Miami Herald he was alarmed by the “indiscriminate” slashes throughout the agency, which oversees everything from cutting-edge climate research to day-to-day operations that farmers and fishers rely on, as well as life-saving weather warnings.

Thursday's mass firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — including nearly two dozen in Virginia Key and more than 600 nationwide — could stall improvements to hurricane forecasting and delay seasonal outlooks.

NOAA's weather data is freely available and critical for meteorologists to create accurate forecasts. But that's not all NOAA does. How its different divisions impact your life.

Scientists react to ‘stupid’ NOAA firings with more on the way: ‘It’s just utter cluelessness. It’s malevolence’ - A former climate scientist called layoffs ‘malevolence’ and ‘utter cluelessness’