10 thoughts on “NOAA / NWS Staffing Discussion (March 31 – April 6 2025)”
Let’s try this.
Joshua, this was what someone said when I shared your article. Not sure where accu weather came into it but was wondering your thoughts ?? And anyone else’s.
They’re privatizing all of it, just like everything else they’re gutting. It’s pay to play. I guarantee that if you follow the money on this, it’ll lead to Accuweather.
My initial thoughts on this are there are only so many “known” private companies, and unless the powers that be know somebody specific, I would not be at all surprised if AccuWeather is or does end up involved … I also think that privatizing this won’t go nearly smoothly. I can’t imaging it’s going to be just one company. In that case, you may as well refine the system and leave it government. Numerous companies are going to have numerous standards and formats, and it’s going to become confusing when communicating between people who get their weather from Company X and Company Y, etc.
Very interesting.
Would it be accu pushing for this or just fall into its lap? And yikes. I cannot imagine the mess multiple companies with different practices would create
That I am not sure of, but knowing them, probably.
I’m trying to understand. Is it to set a paywall for its app? Or more ?
Language is questionable but truthfully this is fantastic. It’s on noaa and privatizing from 2018 but even more appropriate now. Best 15 minutes I spent today and echos TKs view I believe
Vicki, I only included TK’s views and those of Keith Seitter in my piece, but I spoke to several other meteorologists and a few climate experts, too. They voiced concerns about privatization but said it may not be feasible given the huge outlays involved. AccuWeather is private, but it uses public data that comes from very expensive equipment (from weather balloons to satellites to aircraft). Would they be willing to buy and maintain it? Possibly.
One thing I try not to do too much in my articles is speculate on the future, at least when I don’t have enough information to give an informed perspective. At this point, what we have are statements. We don’t yet have actual policy or even plans, frankly.
By the way, I’m not opposed to the principle of privatization of parts of national entities in certain instances, but NOT for public goods intended to serve the entire population free-of-charge. In a big country like the U.S., privatizing the mail service, for example, would leave rural communities – and we have A LOT of rural communities in America – underserved. A similar story can be told about AMTRAK. Privatizing the Northeast corridor is okay, but if you do it nationwide, rural communities will suffer. Is the Chicago to Seattle route profitable? No. It never will be. But it serves a wide range of locales and even some tourists. I’ve been on that train, by the way, and spoken to local folks who use it.
Thank you, Joshua. I hope it is not feasible. Sadly in an attempt to privatize, they may gut the agencies putting people at great risk.
The policies of this Trump administration are a VERY strange blend of Thatcherite conviction that the private sector is always better than the public sector (hence the obsession with privatization, including the weather service, post office, and Amtrak), populist protectionism traditionally favored by the left (hence the tariffs), isolationism (don’t get involved in certain global conflicts while having imperial ambitions, such as wanting Greenland). Don’t ask me to explain the incongruence among these four pursuits.
I heard on the radio that there is a 20% vacancy rate at NWS offices. More cuts to come?
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Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
Let’s try this.
Joshua, this was what someone said when I shared your article. Not sure where accu weather came into it but was wondering your thoughts ?? And anyone else’s.
They’re privatizing all of it, just like everything else they’re gutting. It’s pay to play. I guarantee that if you follow the money on this, it’ll lead to Accuweather.
My initial thoughts on this are there are only so many “known” private companies, and unless the powers that be know somebody specific, I would not be at all surprised if AccuWeather is or does end up involved … I also think that privatizing this won’t go nearly smoothly. I can’t imaging it’s going to be just one company. In that case, you may as well refine the system and leave it government. Numerous companies are going to have numerous standards and formats, and it’s going to become confusing when communicating between people who get their weather from Company X and Company Y, etc.
Very interesting.
Would it be accu pushing for this or just fall into its lap? And yikes. I cannot imagine the mess multiple companies with different practices would create
That I am not sure of, but knowing them, probably.
I’m trying to understand. Is it to set a paywall for its app? Or more ?
Language is questionable but truthfully this is fantastic. It’s on noaa and privatizing from 2018 but even more appropriate now. Best 15 minutes I spent today and echos TKs view I believe
https://youtu.be/qMGn9T37eR8?si=dCqU9SA11zUw7uX_
Vicki, I only included TK’s views and those of Keith Seitter in my piece, but I spoke to several other meteorologists and a few climate experts, too. They voiced concerns about privatization but said it may not be feasible given the huge outlays involved. AccuWeather is private, but it uses public data that comes from very expensive equipment (from weather balloons to satellites to aircraft). Would they be willing to buy and maintain it? Possibly.
One thing I try not to do too much in my articles is speculate on the future, at least when I don’t have enough information to give an informed perspective. At this point, what we have are statements. We don’t yet have actual policy or even plans, frankly.
By the way, I’m not opposed to the principle of privatization of parts of national entities in certain instances, but NOT for public goods intended to serve the entire population free-of-charge. In a big country like the U.S., privatizing the mail service, for example, would leave rural communities – and we have A LOT of rural communities in America – underserved. A similar story can be told about AMTRAK. Privatizing the Northeast corridor is okay, but if you do it nationwide, rural communities will suffer. Is the Chicago to Seattle route profitable? No. It never will be. But it serves a wide range of locales and even some tourists. I’ve been on that train, by the way, and spoken to local folks who use it.
Thank you, Joshua. I hope it is not feasible. Sadly in an attempt to privatize, they may gut the agencies putting people at great risk.
The policies of this Trump administration are a VERY strange blend of Thatcherite conviction that the private sector is always better than the public sector (hence the obsession with privatization, including the weather service, post office, and Amtrak), populist protectionism traditionally favored by the left (hence the tariffs), isolationism (don’t get involved in certain global conflicts while having imperial ambitions, such as wanting Greenland). Don’t ask me to explain the incongruence among these four pursuits.
I heard on the radio that there is a 20% vacancy rate at NWS offices. More cuts to come?