Oklahoma community members and leaders are expressing concern about layoffs at the National Weather Center as tornado season approaches.
On Thursday afternoon, an indeterminate number of OU meteorology students and probationary employees at the National Weather Center received emails informing them that their employment would be terminated from their roles within the National Weather Service.
According to historical data from the National Weather Service, tornado season in Oklahoma typically begins in March and peaks in May.
Rep. Jared Deck (D-Norman) said the cuts, in the wake of previous disasters in Oklahoma, are a sad and preventable situation.
“It’s not that we won’t be prepared, but we don’t know whether or not we will be prepared due to these cuts, and that for a lot of folks that’s just as scary,” Deck said. “Not knowing whether or not we’re prepared for disaster is a scary place to be.”
Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) expressed concern about the impact the cuts will have on the performance of private weather service providers.
“It’s very concerning,” Boren said. “A lot of Oklahomans feel pretty confident about being weather aware, but we’re all mostly reliant on weather apps.”
Rep. Jacob Rosecrants (D-Norman) expressed a lack of shock at the cuts, citing Project 2025’s proposed changes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, which houses the National Weather Service.
Despite his lack of surprise, Rosecrants said he is not in the business of saying “I told you so.” Instead, he’s focused on understanding the terminations.
“There’s a lot of fear mongering and fear factor going on, and I think that’s almost worse than the actual cuts right now because no one really knows,” Rosecrants said.
The layoffs are part of a larger, nationwide mass layoff strategy championed by the Department of Government Efficiency and aim to reduce the size of the federal workforce.
The National Weather Center and National Weather Service layoffs are part of the cuts to NOAA. According to the New York Times, the layoffs impacted more than 800 of NOAA’s 13,000 staffers. The firings are targeting lower-level probationary employees who recently started in their positions, the New York Times reported.
“The National Weather Service is a critical part of not only our state but our national public safety infrastructure, and these employees and researchers deserve fair treatment and should not be punished just because they are in the probationary period of their work,” Deck said.
These are not the first DOGE-proposed layoffs to threaten Oklahoma jobs. On Feb. 23, This is Topeka, reported that 600 civil employees were set to be terminated from their jobs at Tinker Air Force Base on Feb. 24.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt said the reported layoffs were “just rumors” after the layoffs did not occur when This is Topeka reported they would.
If the terminations go through, Stitt made a pledge to assist the former employees in finding new jobs.
“As a state, we’re going to do everything we can to help those guys, if that does happen, or ladies, find new employment here in Oklahoma,” Stitt said.
Considering the similar circumstances surrounding the National Weather Service layoffs and the rumored layoffs at Tinker, Deck said he hopes Stitt would assist all Oklahomans affected by mass layoffs but said he has not heard anything from the governor’s office.
Boren said she believes it would take a private corporation stepping in, likely with incentives from the state, to support terminated employees at Tinker or the National Weather Service.
Stitt’s office did not respond to OU Daily’s request for comment before this article’s time of publication.
Rosecrants said he began speaking with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission when reports of potential layoffs began.
“They said they are preparing for such a thing. They already have been prepared because they kind of revamped their mission, trying to really lean into workforce rather than unemployment,” Rosecrants said.
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure, Ismael Lele and Ana Barboza. Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
