From Odyssey, I'm Lauren Barry, and this is the On Deadline podcast, where we bring you a closer look at stories from our radio newsrooms across the nation.

Today, what we're going to do is preview the summer of 2025, specifically what it's going to look like in terms of risky weather patterns and dangerous storms, and we're wondering if we'll

have enough warning to save lives. All of this has us considering. Is this state of anxiety the

new normal under climate change? Let's start with predictions for the 2025 hurricane season. The National Weather Service is calling for yet another above average season with six to 10 hurricanes this year.

Texas ANM Atmospheric Sciences professor John Nielsen Gammon told Odyssey in Dallas that our work to reduce air pollution has actually maybe been contributing

to the increasing number of hurricanes.

In particular, he pointed to the decrease in fine particles in the atmosphere that started

in the 1970s.

He said that removing that air pollution has allowed the oceans to warm more and allowed the processes

within the hurricanes to develop more easily. In recent years, wildfires, tornadoes,

and hurricanes have taken a devastating toll on cities and citizens throughout the U.S.

And this summer, after sweeping budget cuts by the Trump administration to the ranks

of federal workers, including the National Weather Service, some are wondering if the shortages

are going to impact whether people in the path of these risky weather patterns will get enough

warning. Chris Vigaski, a meteorologist and research program manager at the University

of Wisconsin-Madison, joined Odyssey this week to discuss how National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration cuts and more could change hurricane and wildfire warnings. Does this make you nervous the number of cuts in staffing and funding?

Because I get to say that here in California, whenever you hear about cuts in, say,

the National Weather Service, we're like, well, who's going to tell us when it's fire weather?

Yeah, it really is concerning.

The National Hurricane Center had its best ever forecasts for hurricane season last year.

And we were able to do that because of good staffing, good funding to allow for research

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