I grew up watching the weather. Weather forecasts were essential to flying, and my parents were pilots. I don’t remember the first time I went with my father into an FAA office for a weather briefing. I remember being fascinated with the weather maps showing barometric pressures. The lines and marks on the maps showed where strong winds were likely. Other maps showed areas of clouds. Even though my father was rated to fly on instruments and one of our planes was equipped to fly in the clouds, weather forecasts were critical to flying.

I’m still a bit of a weather junkie. I like to look at forecasts. In addition to the weather forecast program that came with my cell phone, I have downloaded another app. I almost always check both apps and compare them. There will be subtle differences, but they usually forecast the same conditions. The apps are generally accurate, though the timing can be off, and the farther ahead I look, the more likely conditions will change.

The reason the apps are in agreement is straightforward. They get their data from the same source. The detailed maps of cloud cover come from Doppler radar. Wind and barometric pressure information come from the same instruments. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides weather information across the United States.

Our weather forecasts, however, will be less accurate in the future. The federal government has been making changes, calling back some previously fired employees, but the plan continues to cut 20% of the NOAA workforce. NOAA is not a large agency; cutting staff will affect the services provided.

The initial move of the Department of Government Efficiency was to fire provisional employees. Those employees might be recently hired, but they might be long-standing employees recently promoted. Over 800 employees were cut from NOAA. That meant that members of the elite Hurricane Hunters flight team were out of a job, fired by email. Then, realizing that the blanket staff cuts would cripple essential functions, the administration sent emails telling employees that had been dismissed to return to work.

The title of the ad hoc agency, Department of Government Efficiency, belies how the agency operates. Its mode of operation is not at all efficient. At NOAA and other governmental agencies, job and budget cuts are being made from outside the agency without consulting the affected agencies. The approach is as blunt and stupid as when President Trump used a Sharpie marker to alter a NOAA forecast of hurricane movement. However, while it is easy to laugh off the amateurish antics of the president at a news conference, grounding the Hurricane Hunters because of a lack of critical staff poses the real danger of not having vital information in the face of severe weather.

Wholesale attacks on government are based on generalities. Yes, there is waste in some government functions, and there are times when agencies are inefficient. But some agencies do essential work. When it comes to weather forecasting, having a single agency collate information from various sources and disperse it to those who need it is efficient.

NOAA provides critical weather information to airlines' operations nationwide. Without NOAA information, air traffic controllers cannot give pilots in-route advice, compromising flight safety and causing additional delays and flight cancellations.

A lack of information from NOAA is critical not only during severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards but also for everyday people like myself to decide what to wear and which activities to plan.

NOAA has several employees with specialized skills who are not easily replaced. Engineers and pilots who can safely maintain and fly 50-year-old aircraft into storms are challenging to find. Many veterans have received training during their service in the US Air Force and other military branches. NOAA also needs many different specialized skills. Conducting scientific balloon launches, interpreting data from automatic collection sites, maintaining specialized equipment, and performing other jobs within the agency require employees' unique abilities.

While it may be possible to achieve cost savings at the agency, making wholesale cuts without consulting the agency will likely increase costs over time rather than result in long-term savings. Many of the positions at NOAA require expensive training. Rehiring necessary employees after the wholesale firings will likely cost more than the savings in payroll.

NOAA is just one government agency. The current administration's approach disrupts essential governmental services without significantly affecting long-term expenses. In some cases, short-term savings result in higher long-term costs.

I am no expert in politics, but Much of what is done is about how things will be reported on television and social media. Optics is about how things look. Deconstructing government has widespread appeal. Government programs are inefficient, and taxpayers don’t want to see waste and fraud. The current administration is often focused on optics. They pay close attention to what is reported in the news and what is happening on social media.

In the long run, however, decisions made for optics can have long-term and critical consequences. Government is essential for many things we want to do as a society, including supporting retired workers, providing education and health care, conducting research, and responding to disasters. We can now discern that the Department of Government Efficiency is all about optics. It is not a measured attempt at increasing efficiency. It is making a show of cutting budgets and firing employees without considering long-term savings or impacts on essential government functions. The result is not efficient at all.

I will continue to pay attention to the weather, and I will pay attention to the apps on my phone. Still, there will likely be some instances where the apps are less accurate than they used to be due to changes in NOAA and other governmental agencies. Fortunately, there are different ways to gain information about the weather. A short trip outside can provide important information if I decide what jacket to wear. Knowing where to look for approaching storms is good local information. And when I get caught in the rain, it is good to know that I can change into dry clothes when I get home.