meteorology experts are issuing an urgent warning that the Trump administration staff and funding cuts to government weather and natural disaster agencies are threatening to disrupt operations and the emergency response support that people have come to rely on Both jobs and budgets have been slashed at the National Weather Service Noah and FEMA as cities and states like New Jersey head into a hurricane season with a level of uncertainty not felt before Senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan reports So we're predicting an above average season once again 2025 uh above average The forecast an active hurricane season That means 6 to 10 hurricanes 3 to five of them major And the National Weather Service warned the monster category fives now take less than 3 days to rapidly intensify before they strike The big ones that hit this country are fast That's why the preparedness we're talking about today you got to have the the plan early because the big ones are really quick Time is of the essence when you're preparing for a storm Joe Manino lost his home and his business to Superstorm Sandy He knows Jerseyy's vulnerable to storms so he's alarmed by the Trump administration's recent staffing and budget cutbacks at both the National Weather Service and FEMA agencies that predict and respond to major storms That first storm that strikes is going to be a test on how well we as local communities local grassroots organizations and state agencies respond to what we're up against Most of New Jersey depends on forecasts from the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly one of 122 nationwide At least eight offices can no longer operate around the clock Mount Holly escaped those cuts but it's reportedly been operating with four unfilled vacancies That's among 600 openings at the agency But its director assured the public the hurricane center is fully staffed and you know I'm going to make sure that our offices when there's a hurricane threat that's going to have the resources that they need to make sure every warning goes out The National Weather Service said in a statement "It's updated the service level standards for its weather forecast offices to manage impacts due to shifting personnel resources and continues to ensure a continuity of service for mission critical functions I was with Noah for 35 years Um and we never really faced a situation like this So it's it's hard to know exactly you know if and where there's a breaking point Alan Gerard took early retirement from the National Weather Service in March He says budget and staff cuts mean less weather data to work with degraded forecasts and higher stress They've offered reassignments to basically try to move people from some of the offices that are more heavily staffed to some of the offices that are in more dire need As the resources continue to shrink there's only so much you can do And if the radar isn't working and if the observation networks aren't reporting we're kind of flying blind State climatologist Dave Robinson fears new cutbacks like launching fewer weather balloons to collect daily info will damage short and long-term analysis and along the way can result in weakening a forecast Be it a hurricane a tornado um a change in climate system a drought which New Jersey has just been through We need a wealth of data and it impacts everybody's forecast from national to local meteorologists sizing up weekends down the Jersey shore Yeah I'm doing my own forecasting but I'm getting that data from the National Weather Service and Noah right new Jersey sees few tornadoes but they've already brought agony and death to several Midwest states this spring and political storms to match It's a familiar fight After Sandy the Obama administration fielded FEMA in New Jersey but Republican Governor Christie battled political headwinds to get a $60 billion aid package from a Congress controlled by his own party His take i just think it's easy to be a congressman when you don't have to look pain and loss in the eye But when you have to look pain and loss in the eye like a governor does you want to make sure you do everything you can to get the most help you can But the president suggested FEMA could just quote go away leaving states in charge of disaster response He established a review council to consider options Advocates like New Jerseys organizing project urged the panel to boost resources noting FEMA's projected to run out of cash by midsummer But again now the situation is well will they be able to roll that out are there enough staff to actually make that happen i don't I don't know And that's very that's very scary She said the federal government must step in after such a catastrophe Hurricane season starts June 1st I'm Brenda Flanigan NJ Spotlight News