Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - After letting go of hundreds of workers earlier this year under federal cuts, the National Weather Service (NWS) said it will hire 450 employees.

The hires include meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official told CNN the re-hires include 126 positions that were formerly approved and funded, deeming them “front-line mission critical.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: How cuts at the National Weather Service will impact Georgians

More than 500 weather employees were previously laid off as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) slashed budgets across the federal board.

In the wake of the cuts, First Alert Meteorologist Ella Dorsey spoke with two veteran meteorologists at the NWS Atlanta branch, one of the biggest offices in the country.

David Nadler, Atlanta’s warning coordination meteorologist (WCM), said that even though the team has lost three meteorologists, it is still fully equipped to keep Georgians prepared and safe.

“There’s never a time in my experience where we miss an event because we’re understaffed,” Nadler said. “If our whole area is getting hit, we’re not just going to put that on one or two people. We cut the area into sections, and four meteorologists each take a section to monitor. For example, one takes southeast of Atlanta, another takes north of I-20, another takes west of I-75.”

Nadler said the NWS Atlanta branch could get another lead meteorologist.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.

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