NOAA Forecasts 3 To 6 Hurricanes This Season, But Trump Has Left Us Unprepared

Washington, DC – Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook, forecasting that there will be 3 to 6 hurricanes, including 1 to 3 major hurricanes. NOAA also predicted an above-average hurricane season for the Pacific because of the El Niño. Hurricane season begins on June 1, but Donald Trump’s cuts to weather forecasting and disaster response have left us unprepared for even one major hurricane. Trump’s cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service have degraded forecasts and are jeopardizing the accuracy of critical, life-saving weather alerts that people rely on during hurricanes. Trump has also gutted FEMA, weakening our disaster response capabilities and politicizing and delaying critical aid that people rely on to rebuild after a hurricane strikes.  

“With hurricane season on the way, this administration is still derailing our forecasting abilities and putting families, businesses, and communities in danger,” said Monica Medina, Climate Power Co-Chair and former Principal Deputy Undersecretary of NOAA. “America relies on agencies like NOAA and the National Weather Service for life-saving alerts. So we need them to put proven science first, not political agendas. But NOAA and National Weather Service staff are stretched thin, and agency leaders demand loyalty to Trump, putting his whims before public safety. The risks are all too real. We have already seen the costs of Trump’s cuts to our forecasting and disaster response, yet this administration is still courting disaster and leaving us to deal with the tragic consequences of their senseless budget cuts.”

Trump has left us unprepared for hurricane season:

• Trump fired and planned to cut about 2,300 workers at NOAA, including hurricane hunters and researchers at the National Severe Storm Laboratory.
• NOAA scientists said Trump’s cuts to the agency undermine critical hurricane forecasts.
• Trump gutted the National Weather Service, leaving nearly half of weather forecast offices critically understaffed and 30 of the 122 (24.5%) offices lacking a meteorologist-in-charge.
• Because of the Trump administration’s massive layoffs, NWS eliminated or reduced vital weather balloon launches, which degraded forecasts during previous storms.
• Trump’s reconciliation bill, passed by congressional Republicans, included provisions that cut weather forecasting and research funding for programs that would have improved forecasting, monitoring, and public communication of hazardous weather.

• NOAA announced it would no longer track the number of climate disasters that cost over $1 billion, leaving insurance companies, researchers, and policymakers without key information to help understand major disaster weather patterns.
• Trump has undermined FEMA’s role in helping communities prepare for disasters. Trump’s FY27 budget proposal included cutting $1.3 billion in FEMA funds for state and local emergency preparedness. 
• Earlier this month, Trump’s FEMA Review Council released its recommendations to overhaul the agency, pushing more financial and administrative burden for disaster recovery onto states and local communities that cannot afford it. 
• Trump has cut key FEMA staff, delaying the distribution of critical disaster funding. In 2025, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security drafted plans to cut FEMA’s workforce by more than 50%, which would have resulted in the loss of more than 11,500 jobs.
• Trump has consistently politicized disaster aid. As of March 2026, it was three times harder for Democratic-led states to get Trump’s approval for federal disaster aid. Trump approved just 23% of disaster aid requests from Democratic-led states, compared to 89% for Republican-led states. 
• Under Trump, pending FEMA disaster applications have sat longer on average than at any other point in the previous 37 years.
• Trump stopped approving new allocations from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation and Grant Program, becoming the first president in at least three decades to deny governors’ requests for funding that’s meant to protect people and property.
• Trump’s previous DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, consistently mismanaged FEMA and fumbled the agency’s response to major disasters. As of January 2026, Noem’s requirement for her personal approval on all FEMA expenses exceeding $100,000 created a $17 billion bottleneck, causing months-long delays in delivering federal disaster funds to states. 
• The Government Accountability Office warned that FEMA’s staffing crisis, caused by Trump-era cuts, exacerbated existing challenges and severely undermined national disaster readiness.