June 1st is the official start to hurricane season, and thanks to Trump, these storms are about to become a lot more dangerous. Not because (undeniably) climate change is making these storms worse, but rather because he's understaffed the offices needed to help forecast these massive storms.
Fifteen national weather service offices stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Puerto Rico are short meteorologists, and four offices in particular (Miami, Houston, Jacksonville, and Puerto Rico) are short-staffed by at least a third. And the National Weather Service is frantically trying to fill the 'meteorologist-in-charge' position in both Houston and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The National Hurricane Centers were already understaffed, but now, thanks to Trump, they are grossly overstretched. The head of the National Weather Service Employees Organization has said bluntly, "We're at the snapping point now."
A National Hurricane Center spokesperson implied "we'll be fine," but Rick Spinrad, who was administrator for the NOAA until January, had a different outlook. "If I were a citizen of Texas, Florida, or Georgia, I wouldn't be sure how well warned I would be of a hurricane."
And considering how FEMA has pretty much stopped showing up to disaster areas, this could be a long year for anyone in hurricane country.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a comment. I'll review it and as long as it's not dirty, I'll post it (even if you disagree with me).