Trump's gutting of the National Weather Service degraded forecasts during tornado and storm outbreak in the Central US.

[Tonk]

The NWS's reduced funding for weather balloons resulted in less critical data for forecasters to warn communities of danger. At the same time, a twister outbreak, flooding, windstorm gusts, snow, and large hailstorms pounded the central US over the Easter holiday.

NBC news reports:

The National Weather Service’s reduction in weather balloon launches left forecasters on shaky ground last week as the central U.S. got hammered with hail and tornadoes, outside meteorologists told NBC News.

Severe storms brought dozens of tornadoes to the central U.S. starting Thursday, snarling Easter weekend travel. Twisters were reported in Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, and the storm system brought several inches of snow to parts of Colorado and baseball-sized hail to Wisconsin.

The storms were one of the first tests of weather forecasts during severe weather since balloon releases were cut back in places like Grand Junction, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, among other sites. Balloon launches are time-intensive tasks, and many local offices were forced to cut back after the Trump administration trimmed the size of NWS by offering early retirements and laying off some probationary workers.

This was predictable when DOGE announced funding cuts to the NWS (specifically weather ballons), and they had no clue what the damage might do to a forecast critical in times of extreme danger.

How a weather balloon works:

A weather balloon is a type of balloon that is released into the atmosphere in order to collect data about the weather. Weather balloons are typically filled with helium or hydrogen gas, and they can reach altitudes of up to 30 miles. The data that is collected by weather balloon is used to help improve weather forecasting.

Meteorologists have been using weather balloons to study the atmosphere for over 100 years. They are released twice a day from about 900 locations around the world. Each balloon carries instruments that measure temperature, humidity, and pressure. The data collected by these balloons help meteorologists understand the current state of the atmosphere and forecast future conditions.

Weather balloons are made of latex or mylar and are filled with hydrogen or helium. When they are released, they rise at a rate of about 1 kilometer per hour until they reach an altitude of 30 kilometers. At this altitude, the atmospheric pressure is so low that the balloon expands to its maximum size and then bursts. The balloon then falls back to Earth, where it is retrieved by a chase team.