NOAA

This week on The Florida Roundup, we looked at how federal funding cuts and job losses could impact weather forecasting and hurricane preparedness in Florida and more.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stopped tracking the costs of damage from weather disasters, a move that follows the Trump Administration's efforts to remove references to climate change from federal documents and resources.

The Trump administration is targeting top climate and weather labs for cuts. Insiders worry about the impact on research and NOAA's ability to forecast severe weather like hurricanes and tornadoes.

Experts say the change could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fired hundreds of employees at the end of February, including meteorologists. Experts and scientists expressed concern that these cuts will affect forecasting systems’ reliability and accuracy.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a broad freedom of information request to the federal government demanding more details about layoffs and cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

With the governor's rejection of a new management plan, some rules, including a ban on cruise ships flushing greywater near troubled reefs, won't take effect.

On "The Florida Roundup," Tom Hudson spoke with Florida Public Radio Emergency Network chief meteorologist Tim Miller about the federal government's role in weather forecasting and communicating dangers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the plan, which took more than a decade to hammer out, failed to pave the way for artificial reefs in state waters and stripped Florida of managing its own wildlife.

Fired researcher Andy Hazelton grew up in Plant City and Lakeland, and said working for NOAA had been a lifelong goal. While a new federal employee, he’d worked for NOAA for eight years.

They say it's necessary to maintain the nation's hurricane and extreme weather forecasting capabilities.

The Rice's whale is one of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest and most mysterious animals, and is found nowhere else on Earth. NOAA Fisheries is set to publish a new critical habitat designation for the species.