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FL weatherman stops on-air forecast to warn Trump's DOGE cuts to NOAA could be catastrophic [1]

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Date: 2025-06-03

A Florida TV weatherman raises the alarm

John Morales has been a TV weatherman in Florida for 34 years. And he's quietly pissed. The Trump administration is the target of his ire. He made his feelings clear on his Tuesday news appearance on NBC6 Miami. Morales interrupted the regular weather report to editorialize on the Trump administration's disastrous cuts to climate monitoring. Here is what he had to say (video below).

He began with archival footage of his 2019 report on Hurricane Dorian. He made the point that thanks to data supplied by the National Weather Service and NOAA, he was able to predict a late turn in the storm's path, thereby reassuring Atlantic Coast Floridians that they would dodge a bullet.

Morales pointed out that, thanks to Trump's DOGE cuts, this sort of precise forecast would no longer be possible. He stated that it is not just the weather monitoring in his backyard that would take a beating. The problem was national. It would affect all science research. And it would damage, perhaps terminally, America's global leadership in science.

"I'm here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general — and I could talk about that for a long, long time — and how that is affecting the US leadership in science for many years. And how we are losing that leadership. And this is a multi-generational impact on science in this country. All right.

As a local news reporter, he shifted his attention to local concerns.

But specifically, let's talk about the federal government cuts to the National Weather Service and to NOAA. Did you know that the Central and South Florida weather offices are currently basically 20 to 40% understaffed? From Tampa to Key West, including the Miami office, 20 to 40% understaffed.

Morales expanded his regional concern to encompass the specifics of national climate forecasting.

Now, this type of staffing shortage is having effects across the nation because there has been a nearly 20% reduction in weather balloon releases and launches that carry those weather radiosondes. And what we are starting to see is that the quality of those forecasts is becoming degraded.

He then returned to Florida and hurricanes.

There's also a chance because of some of these cuts that NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft will not be able to fly this year and, with less reconnaissance missions, may be flying blind. And we may not exactly know how strong a hurricane is before it reaches the coastline, like what happened a couple of years ago with Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, Mexico."

He finished with a call to action.

I was asked to talk about this today. I'm glad I was. What you need to do is call your Representatives and make sure that these cuts are stopped. Back to you.

I wish he had said who asked him to talk about this.

x Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺 — John Morales (@johnmoralestv.bsky.social) 2025-06-03T00:45:03.121Z

It's not just NOAA.

Being unprepared and flying blind is just the start of the Sunshine State's problems. Floridians need only look 400 miles north to western North Carolina to get a taste of what life after disasters is like in the time of Trump.

North Carolinians, like their southern cousins, voted for Trump. He returned the favor by withholding FEMA aid from the state. This cruelty is not a hiccup. It is part of the malignant sadist's master plan to inflict the maximum amount of pain on the largest number of people, regardless of their political reference.

As bad as it is for the Carolinas, hurricanes are the defining feature of Florida's weather. Of all recorded hurricanes to hit the US, 25% (120 out of 471) have struck Trump's home state. The news gets worse for MAGAs. Of those 471 hurricanes, 84% (395) have hit red states.

+ another 31 in other Mid-Atlantic and New England states

Trump is not interested in saving money. If that were the goal, the administration would spend pennies on weather forecasting to save dollars on the recovery. We can't stop hurricanes. But if state authorities have a good idea of where and how hard they will hit, they can maximize the efficacy of their response.

If nothing else, they would not have to waste money to fortify areas that are out of harm's way. Instead, they could dedicate their resources to minimize the impact on the areas that are in harm's way. It's easier to defend a pass if you know where the QB is going to throw the ball.

Conclusion

The internet is stuffed with political opinionators offering thoughts on why people vote against their own financial interests. The MAGA voters are dumb. They're racists. They love liars. They prefer rhetoric to achievement — and value entertainment over accomplishment. Every possibility has its fans. I can't say who's right. Although I'm sure it is a blend of reasons.

But I do know this. If you want the government to spend money to benefit the regular citizen, vote Democratic. If you want the government to make the rich richer, vote Republican.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/3/2325754/-FL-weatherman-stops-on-air-forecast-to-warn-Trump-s-DOGE-cuts-to-NOAA-could-be-catastrophic?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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