Des Moines, IA (northwestiowanow.com) — Six employees at the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities have been dismissed as part of the administration’s overhaul of the agency, which has seen the recent firing of hundreds of workers nationwide. Ray Wolf, a retired meteorologist with the Quad Cities branch of the NWS, says staffing shortages have been a chronic issue.

The NWS provides weather forecasts and warnings, and employs roughly 12,000 people across the country. Wolf says they’ve faced hiring shortages, and the hiring freeze and dismissals will affect numerous day-to-day operations.

There is no confirmation about the extent of layoffs from the weather service office in metro Des Moines, or in Omaha, Sioux Falls and La Crosse, which also provide forecasts for parts of Iowa.