Did Florida weatherman say he feared he could no longer predict hurricanes because of funding cuts?

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            <p class="fact_check_info_description">Morales delivered these remarks in June 2025, rather than the summer of 2026, as some online posts suggested. Snopes has reached out to see if his perspective has changed a year later and is awaiting a reply.</p>
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<p>In August 2026, social media rumors claimed that NBC 6 South Florida meteorologist <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/author/john-morales/">John Morales</a> went off-script during a broadcast to express fears that government funding cuts by the U.S. presidential administration would hinder his ability to accurately track hurricanes.</p>

<p>As users searched for verification, the claim circulated widely online. A Facebook post featured Morales' picture alongside claims that he had "suddenly shifted gear" mid-broadcast to warn viewers about predicting the weather "this year" due to "the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general" (<a href="https://perma.cc/V7CM-A5KC">archived</a>):</p>

<p>Because Morales did indeed make these statements, the quote is considered correctly attributed. However, the remarks were originally made in June 2025, not 2026.</p>

<p>We contacted Morales to inquire whether he maintains these concerns regarding hurricane forecasting accuracy and will provide updates if he responds.</p>

<p>The original video of the broadcast was retrieved from the official YouTube channel of NBC 6 South Florida, published on June 3, 2025:</p>

<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwmmPlw06_0"></iframe></p>

<p>Following a rebroadcast of a 2019 segment covering <a href="https://www.weather.gov/mhx/Dorian2019">Hurricane Dorian</a>—a destructive storm that impacted the Bahamas before traveling up the <comment-start name="e2baacd51b523554e48552492d01c5b0d:99fb9"/>U.S. East Coast<comment-end name="e2baacd51b523554e48552492d01c5b0d:99fb9"/>—Morales stated at the 00:50 mark:</p>

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    <p>Lots of people in Florida were concerned the hurricane was heading here. And as you've grown accustomed to my presentations over my 34 years in South Florida newscasts, confidently I went on TV and I told you, it's going to turn. You don't need to worry. It is going to turn.</p>
    <p>And I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general.</p>
    <p>And I could talk about that for a long, long time and how that is affecting the U.S. leadership in science over many years and how we're losing that leadership. And this is a multigenerational impact on science in this country. All right.</p>
    <p>But specifically, let's talk about the federal government cuts to the National Weather Service and to <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/about-our-agency">NOAA</a>. Did you know that Central and South Florida National Weather Service offices are currently basically 20 to 40% understaffed from Tampa to Key West, including the Miami office? Twenty to 40% understaffed.</p>
    <p>Now, this type of staffing shortage is having impacts across the nation because there's been a nearly 20% reduction in weather balloon releases, launches that carry those radio signs. And what we're starting to see is that the quality of the forecasts is becoming degraded. There's also a chance, because of some of these cuts, that NOAA hurricane Hunter aircraft will not be able to fly this year, and with less reconnaissance missions, we may be flying blind, and we may not exactly know how strong a hurricane is before it reaches the coastline, like happened a couple of years ago in Hurricane Otis in Acapulco, Mexico.</p>
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<p>At the time, prominent news organizations including <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hurricanes-doge-john-morales-musk-florida-weatherman-b2763434.html">The Independent</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/weather/john-morales-florida-hurricane-forecast-nbc-6.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE8.i4Mj.0CkwX8yHewTW&amp;smid=re-share">The New York Times</a> covered Morales' on-air statements.</p>

<p>For additional background, Snopes has investigated various claims tied to federal funding reductions under the Trump administration, such as <a href="https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/06/12/doge-cuts-screwworm/">reports linking budget cuts to a domestic screwworm outbreak</a>.</p>