"The Trump administration is looking to slash the National Weather Service's budget at a time when the service already has hundreds of unfilled positions — all while extreme weather is increasing. Now, meteorologists are speaking out, warning about being understaffed and the risks to keeping the public informed.

Last year, according to government figures, there were 16 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each in the U.S. So the weather is something to keep an eye on. And since 1870, what's now known as the National Weather Service has been doing that. But for the past several years, it's been doing so with serious staff shortages."

Brian Naylor reports for NPR March 1, 2018. [2]