An Omaha area National Weather Service office will be redeploying weather balloons next week after the Trump administration decided to fund more staff. 

U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., said he got confirmation Thursday from the White House that the administration will authorize two meteorologists next week for the NWS office, which will allow it to deploy weather balloons twice a day.

“They’re all smiles,” Flood said, referring to the Valley NWS officials. 

The announcement came after the Weather Service office for the Omaha area and other Great Plains offices announced that they would pause the deployment of weather balloons due to cuts from the Trump administration last month. Trump cut 1,000 jobs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service. 

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Flood was among several in Nebraska’s federal delegation to push back against NWS DOGE cuts. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing his concern about the plan to lay off personnel at NOAA following the recent wave of deadly storms across the country, after telling the Examiner that he would “press the White House” to restore the Weather Service office’s ability to deploy weather balloons.

The rest of Nebraska’s all-GOP delegation expressed concerns about grounding the weather balloons. Flood said he wants to introduce legislation that would reclassify National Weather Service employees as public safety. 

“Had that been in place, this would never have gotten to the point it is,” Flood told the Examiner. 

Weather balloons are a key tool in forecasting. Midwestern meteorologists feared the data loss would have led to forecasting challenges. Flood also provided specifics on the NWS official staffing issues – the office typically has 13 meteorologists but was down to eight. 

Nebraska experienced a blizzard last month, which caused Gov. Jim Pillen to declare a state of emergency for 24 counties. The damage estimates from the blizzard are estimated to be more than $64.8 million. The governor is seeking federal disaster assistance from the Trump Administration, calling the winter storm “one of the most destructive winter weather events to impact Nebraska in recent history.”

Eric Hunt, an agricultural meteorologist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told Nebraska Public Media that the “worst-case scenario” involves forecasting accuracy returning to its 2000s levels because it would lead to shorter warning times for potential severe weather and less accurate long-term forecasts.

The Trump Administration’s decision also comes as Elon Musk is preparing to take a step back from the Department of Government Efficiency, leaving the agency without its biggest advocate.