Alabama’s preeminent meteorologist defended workers with the National Weather Service on Tuesday as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency takes aim at the agency overseeing the NWS with job and budget cuts.

Hundreds of weather forecasters and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were fired Thursday in the latest wave of cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, sparking concern among local forecasters and emergency officials.

Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the latest federal agency to have been targeted by Elon Musk's DOGE committee. This week, the Commerce Department began

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has targeted federal agencies like USAID, CFPB, and NOAA to reduce government spending.

Weather experts predict that Elon Musk's latest round of government firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including at the National Weather Service, will almost certainly make it more difficult to predict dangerous weather emergencies as quickly as needed.

Some 880 employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were laid off on Thursday, a congressional source told CBS News.

Donald Trump claimed that the email was somehow intended to catch out nonexistent government employees—but the true purpose has emerged: to see how closely federal agencies are following the president’s agenda and sweeping executive orders, even as they face an onslaught of legal challenges.

The latest round of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk, are expected to impact at least 10% of NOAA’s workforce with more cuts potentially on the horizon.

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency layoffs at the Oklahoma National Weather Center raise safety concerns during tornado season.