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.

“Hundreds of federal employees at the NOAA were fired yesterday as part of the DOGE cuts to the federal workforce. 1/3rd of the nation’s GDP is supported by NOAA services – the impact of these cuts will be felt nationwide,” warned Rep. Lindsay Cross.

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.

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.

In the Northwest Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, invasive lionfish, native to Asia and Australia, have spread, preying on native fish essential to coral reefs. Lionfish have become one of the world’s most damaging marine fish invasions.

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).