Below is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
Andrew Hazelton:Ive been with NOAA in varying capacities for over 8 years.
And right now were not allowed to work.
Hurricane MichaelPhoto: NOAA
It was sort of chaotic because they had about an hours notice.
Weve been in this limbo state.
I know some people filed appeals with the merit board.
And theres still some uncertainty as to whether there could be a legal layoff process after that.
There are a lot of unknowns.
Gizmodo:We could speak about some more unknowns, frankly.
Your focus is hurricanes.
Hazelton:In my group, I was the main person doing hurricanes.
There were a few people from that group that were laid off.
These are people working on some of the computer models that are our main tools collecting data.
Effects could be felt across the board, for anybody who relies on weather data.
Hazelton:Because I was there through last year, it was the first part of the hurricane season.
Ive flown in quite a few big ones and done work with the aircraft data and also the modeling.
Hazelton:Most of the flight is just kind of like a bumpy commercial flight.
Its a P-3 aircraft.
Its a propeller planekind of a bumpy, noisy plane in generalbut very sturdy.
I think Michael was probably the storm that was the bumpiest.
I wasnt on the famous Ian flight where they got really rocked aroundI was the one before that.
So Michael and also Helene last year was a pretty intense eyewall.
We didnt want to fly through because it was just so gnarly looking on radar.
Gizmodo:People in and affiliated with this administration talk a lot aboutprivatizing weatherforecasting.
Hazelton:The thing is theres already a pretty robust private weather enterprise.
There are private companies that do good work.
We work with them and a lot of them rely on NOAA data for their apps or different tools.
Its really a pretty good public-private partnership that I think is honestly a model for that kind of thing.
Its a pretty minuscule cost when you look at like the dollars saved.
Better forecasts save lives and money.
In a lot of ways, NOAA really pays for itself.
Gizmodo:You mentioned that some folks were reinstated early on.
It sounds like its kind of a black box as to how those decisions are being made.
Is that a fair characterization?
Hazelton:Yeah, there hasnt really been a whole lot of criteria or communication.
Hazelton:No, not really.
I think its going to depend a lot on court cases and how those play out.
Thats above my pay grade.
Hazelton:Its tough.
Its hard to get everything done that you want and need to.
NOAAs mission is to protect lives and property.
We have a track record of doing that and thats what we want to get back to doing.
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The Numbers Are in: Hurricane Helene Deadliest in U.S.
