I’m a meteorologist, and breaking NOAA would undermine journalists’ ability to cover the story our audiences care about most.

Officials in the Western U.S. who warn the public about avalanches are sounding a different type of alarm. Recovery efforts for three victims of a large avalanche near Anchorage, Alaska, were ongoing Thursday,

President Donald Trump announced mass layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world’s premier centers for studying climate science. The announcement was the culmination of Trump’s longstanding campaign against climate science as a field.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was hit with significant layoffs this week, with hundreds of employees terminated in another round of job cuts spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration that has sparked backlash from many weather experts.

The two rounds of departures together represent about 10 percent of NOAA’s roughly 13,000 employees. A spokesman for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Meteorological Society said the federal cuts are "likely to cause irreparable harm." Alan Holt explains how NOAA models help inform everyday forecasts.

The Trump administration has slashed the $4.5 million Maine Sea Grant, which boosted research and economic development for coastal communities in the state. This comes after the President and Maine Governor Janet Mills publicly clashed during a White House summit last month.