"220,000 Fewer Workers: How Trump’s Cuts Affected Every Federal Agency."
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/09/upshot/trump-workforce-cuts-table.html
Eye-opening, stomach-turning table of the staff cuts to 500+ federal agencies, Nov 2024 - Nov 2025. Plus a search engine to find the cuts for a given agency. Some examples:
#NASA, down 6%
#NIH, down 18%
#HHS, down 18%
#NOAA, down 20%
#CDC, down 22%
#OSTP, down 26%
#NSF, down 29%
#NEA, down 34%
#IMLS, down 59%
#NEH, down 73%
#DefendResearch #Funding #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics
Alex, the Hearth Fire
boosted
Ozone hole continues to slowly recover, thanks to an international agreement to ban ozone-depleting substances.
It should close later this century.
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-noaa-rank-2025-ozone-hole-as-5th-smallest-since-1992/
Ozone hole continues to slowly recover, thanks to an international agreement to ban ozone-depleting substances.
It should close later this century.
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-noaa-rank-2025-ozone-hole-as-5th-smallest-since-1992/
nullagent
boosted
But the sudden warming in the far upper atmosphere is going to result in anything but warmth. It is causing the #PolarVortex winds to weaken, said Amy H. Butler, a meteorologist at the #NOAA, & they could even reverse.
…These warming events…can trigger the most intense “polar vortex” cold-air outbreaks in the #US.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NationalGuard
Both Butler & Lopez Lang said having accurate #forecasts for #PolarVortex events can help make 7- to 10-day forecasts better, which can be beneficial for decision-making.
…As impactful as these polar vortex events are, scientists are losing some of their eyes on this layer of the atmosphere, Lopez Lang said.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
#Satellites are crucial to observing the stratosphere & making predictions about sudden stratospheric warming events, she said, & some of that #data is blinking out as satellites age & #NOAA makes #budget & program decisions that affect the availability of current & future measurements. She cited some newly missing data from polar-orbiting satellites as an example.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #PolarVortex #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NationalGuard
#PolarVortex disruption could bring colder temperatures into December
Northern parts of the US may record colder than normal temperatures in the coming weeks, according to a three- to four-week temperature forecast.
“We can see more active & shifted storm tracks & increases in #cold air outbreaks in regions across the Northern Hemisphere,” Lopez-Lang said.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
Both Butler & Lopez Lang said having accurate #forecasts for #PolarVortex events can help make 7- to 10-day forecasts better, which can be beneficial for decision-making.
…As impactful as these polar vortex events are, scientists are losing some of their eyes on this layer of the atmosphere, Lopez Lang said.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
…Scientists are watching for colder than normal conditions to develop in the mid-latitudes—where most of the population resides—over the next month or so. Once the #PolarVortex is disrupted, it can take a month or more to recover, said Andrea Lopez Lang, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
What’s most difficult to predict is where the polar vortex will deliver its icy blast, & the temperature outlooks aren’t taking it fully into account, yet.
#PolarVortex disruption could bring colder temperatures into December
Northern parts of the US may record colder than normal temperatures in the coming weeks, according to a three- to four-week temperature forecast.
“We can see more active & shifted storm tracks & increases in #cold air outbreaks in regions across the Northern Hemisphere,” Lopez-Lang said.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #PublicHealth #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
But the sudden warming in the far upper atmosphere is going to result in anything but warmth. It is causing the #PolarVortex winds to weaken, said Amy H. Butler, a meteorologist at the #NOAA, & they could even reverse.
…These warming events…can trigger the most intense “polar vortex” cold-air outbreaks in the #US.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NationalGuard
Over the next two weeks, these shifts could start to be felt in #NorthAmerica, #Europe & #Asia as the #PolarVortex weakens & tumbles south, like a spinning top that slows & wobbles off course.
One unusual feature of this event is its timing; sudden stratospheric warming events of this magnitude are almost unheard of in November, said meteorologist Judah Cohen, a research scientist at MIT.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
But the sudden warming in the far upper atmosphere is going to result in anything but warmth. It is causing the #PolarVortex winds to weaken, said Amy H. Butler, a meteorologist at the #NOAA, & they could even reverse.
…These warming events…can trigger the most intense “polar vortex” cold-air outbreaks in the #US.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NationalGuard
Think of the stratospheric #PolarVortex like a wall of wind, corralling the ultra-cold, Arctic air over the North Pole. When it weakens, cold air spills south into places like the Lower 48, Europe & Asia.
Right now, the air in the stratosphere — the layer of the atmosphere above where most #weather occurs — is warming quickly & dramatically, in a phenomenon known as a sudden stratospheric warming event.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
…Over the next 10 days, changes in the stratosphere will upend #weather patterns & set the stage for a cold, snowy December across the Northern Hemisphere.
It will mean a dramatic swing in weather for parts of the #US that are currently simmering in record heat….
It could also be one of the earliest significant #PolarVortex disruptions recorded since the dawn of the satellite era.
#ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #Trump #NaturalDisasters #FEMA #NOAA #NationalGuard
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/weather/polar-vortex-cold-snowy-december-stratosphere?cid=ios_app
Lisa Melton
boosted
Staff cuts at NOAA have resulted in loss of "27,000 years of experience."
NOAA retirees are working as volunteers and unpaid interns to help with the current workload.
The White House wants to entirely eliminate NOAA Research, the branch of the agency that oversees the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
This is deliberate sabotage by the anti-science White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/climate/noaa-volunteers-hurricane-melissa.html
#UsPol #NOAA #Climate
1/n
Staff cuts at NOAA have resulted in loss of "27,000 years of experience."
NOAA retirees are working as volunteers and unpaid interns to help with the current workload.
The White House wants to entirely eliminate NOAA Research, the branch of the agency that oversees the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
This is deliberate sabotage by the anti-science White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/climate/noaa-volunteers-hurricane-melissa.html
#UsPol #NOAA #Climate
1/n
Alex Akselrod
boosted
This is what we pay taxes for, folks. 😡 #politics #NOAA #HurricaneMelissa #Melissa
This is what we pay taxes for, folks. 😡 #politics #NOAA #HurricaneMelissa #Melissa
Jonathan Schofield
boosted
Hurricane Melissa satellite with lightning. My heart is with Jamaica.
💔
This is a category 5, their largest hurricane in history. It’s likely that Jamaica will be completely demolished.
Who has info on how we can help? Are there reliable mutual aid recipients? Other ideas on how to help?
Credit: CIRA/NOAA
https://satlib.cira.colostate.edu/event/hurricane-melissa/
#HurricaneMelissa #Jamaica #NOAA #CIRA #Satellite #MutualAid
Jonathan Schofield
boosted
Track of Melissa has taken the storm much more west ward than I hoped, and it's smack S off of Jamaica island. This means the ENE stream which WILL push it NE will go through the most populous area.
Latest estimates put the storm going much further NE, because the ENE stream has solidified and grown stronger, maybe due to Tropical Storm Sonia bumping a mass of air, WSW off Mexico.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/281150.shtml?
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Melissa is, now, very much a picture perfect hurricane, 901mbar and 175mph/280kmh sustained winds at the core vortex walls.
The IR signature is scary, but it shows a slight cooling of the core vortex. This means the storm has stopped "feeding" is will hopefully start dissipating energy, as it drags over landmasses. Unfortunately, that energy will be dissipated by wrecking #Jamaica and #Haiti.
3 media
Track of Melissa has taken the storm much more west ward than I hoped, and it's smack S off of Jamaica island. This means the ENE stream which WILL push it NE will go through the most populous area.
Latest estimates put the storm going much further NE, because the ENE stream has solidified and grown stronger, maybe due to Tropical Storm Sonia bumping a mass of air, WSW off Mexico.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/281150.shtml?
3 media