There's so much happening in politics right now. So red, white and blue is here to ask, okay, but why?

It could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay area in more than a century.

Tonight, more than two million people are without power as Milton's storm surge threatens destruction

in the dark with roads underwater as it continues to rise. Last year, extreme weather cost us

hundreds of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. So why is the Trump administration

defunding the Weather Service?

The Weather Service is part of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA also includes five other departments, like the National Ocean Service.

Around 1,000 employees have been laid off since February, with plans to fire nearly 20% of the agency's 12,000-person workforce, and cut $1.6 billion from their budget.

Employees are calling it devastating, not just for them personally, but for the safety of all Americans.

We need Noah to help us predict storms and warn people when they need to evacuate. The data is used by airports to make sure that planes can fly safely, by farmers to know when to plant their crops,

by fishing companies to know when it's safe to send boats out on the water, and by construction companies to calculate the right risks of wildfires or flooding.

Individual Americans rely on their weather apps and local meteorologists

to tell them when it's safe to go out for a hike or what to pack for an upcoming vacation.

And the information for every single one of these things

comes from NOAA. The weather app on your phone isn't magical. It relies on weather data

provided by the federal government. If you're frustrated by inaccurate weather reports right now,

just wait till we don't have a reliable weather service.

A national weather service has existed in some form since 1807,

when President Thomas Jefferson founded the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey to provide maps for sailing ships.

The full National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that we have today

was established in 1970 by President Nixon for, quote, better protection of life and property from natural hazards and a better understanding of the environment.

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