National Weather Service to Rehire Hundreds of Positions Fired by DOGE

Only months after hundreds of federal workers were abruptly canned, the National Weather Service is hiring them back. Officials have approved the agency to rehire 450 positions, including radar techs, meteorologists, and hydrologists. All said and done, the number of NWS workers will be almost the same.

The move follows bipartisan pressure from lawmakers and warnings from former NWS directors that slashing staff could lead to preventable deaths during severe weather. This summer’s deadly floods in Texas have intensified scrutiny on the cuts.

OK. Enough with the politics.

For skiers, this is good news. NOAA and NWS data powers many of the forecasts we use to track storms, chase powder, and assess avalanche danger. A fully staffed NWS means better observations, more reliable models, and safer days in the mountains.

Cuts to the NWS workforce mean fewer observations, gaps in radar coverage, or delays in data collection, not to mention overworked meteorologists trying to cover the gaps. These issues don’t just affect powder hounds, but also disrupt vital information channels used by ski patrol. Earlier this year, avalanche experts warned that weaker weather data would make their life-saving forecasts less reliable.

In short: when the NWS is running at full strength, the community benefits. From the backcountry skier to the ski patroller benefits. These 450 rehires might not just improve your powder day predictions. They could also help keep mountain communities safer.