"As of June, NWS said the aviation meteorologist workforce is down to 69 employees, partly as a result of the federal hiring freeze and separation incentive programs like deferred resignation. FAA and NWS in February agreed to a cap of 81 full-time equivalents for such positions. (In 2024, prior to the agreement, the report said that the FAA was pushing to lower that number to 71.)"
"Under a 2016 interagency agreement between FAA and NWS, there are supposed to be three meteorologists and one meteorologist in charge at each of the 21 air route traffic control centers across the U.S. But that is not achievable under the February agreement. GAO reported that the control center in Oakland, Calif., is down to one meteorologist, another four centers have only two such employees and five centers don't have a meteorologist in charge."
National Weather Service aviation meteorologists who assist air traffic controllers are working overtime, skipping leave, and taking on additional responsibilities due to worsening staff shortages. The aviation meteorologist workforce declined to 69 employees by June, influenced by a federal hiring freeze and separation incentive programs. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service agreed to a cap of 81 full-time equivalents in February. The 2016 interagency staffing standard of three meteorologists plus one meteorologist in charge at each of 21 air route traffic control centers is not achievable under the cap. Several centers are severely understaffed, including a single meteorologist in Oakland.
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