Andy Hazelton was one of 1,300 federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees targeted for layoffs by the Trump White House in what they say is an effort to cut fraud, waste and abuse across the U.

In another sign of congressional pushback on cuts to NOAA, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked the Commerce Department for detailed information on how the top federal weather, climate and oceans agency has been affected.

"With this next round, things are going to break, and they're going to break badly," said a NOAA official with the first Trump administration.

Injudicious firings of NOAA and NWS employees will dismantle a critical public service and pull apart a crucially needed and successful public-private partnership.

Experts are sounding the alarm that gutting NOAA could have devastating consequences—not just for weather forecasting, but for the entire U.S. economy. As Panovich put it plainly, "The two buildings house all the Doppler radar data and model and observation data, literally the most critical 2 buildings they have!"

Together with recent firings and resignations, the new cuts could hamper the National Weather Service’s ability to produce lifesaving forecasts, scientists say.

Kerri Englert, a former flight director, she says the layoffs could lead to inaccurate information this hurricane season.

The potential closures come as the General Services Administration looks for opportunities to sell government buildings it says may not be needed.