I've barely even met newly installed National Hurricane Center director Bill Proenza. I shook his hand at the National Hurricane Conference last April in New Orleans, and at the American Meteorological Society meeting last January in San Antonio, I asked him a question about hurricanes and global warming at a press conference, which he answered respectably (if cautiously). All in all, he seemed like a nice enough and more than competent guy.
Moreover, when Proenza started speaking out about how NOAA was underfunding his center and not planning adequately to save the ailing QuikSCAT satellite, I was instinctively impressed by this guy who seemed so willing to, in the famous phrase, "speak truth to power."
Now, however, a meltdown has occurred at the hurricane center, and we learn for the first time that many of the top forecasters--including one I interviewed for the book, Richard Pasch, and another that I also met in San Antonio, James Franklin--have gone on record to The Miami Herald questioning Proenza's leadership. That gives me more than a little pause. Meanwhile, at least one hurricane blogger who is more in the know than I about the developing story in Miami--Margie Kieper--is now predicting Proenza's ouster. In a few hours, meanwhile, Jeff Masters is promising a lot more inside information about this developing, er, storm.
The most shocking thing is that all this is happening as the busy part of hurricane season approaches. Indeed, there's a tropical wave coming across the Atlantic right now with at least some development potential. I don't want to suggest the forecasters can't do their jobs without a leader, but still, it would be disconcerting if we enter August with either a) no hurricane center director or b) serious strife among staff at our chief hurricane forecasting center....
UPDATE: Jeff Masters challenges Proenza's laments over the QuikSCAT satellite...
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This is just another minor dust-up between the current administration in The White House and scientists.
Whether it's Global Warming or the directors of the Hurricane Center, it's clear that President George W. Bush (and I cringe whenever I type that) knows more than anybody, no matter how many years of education they may have.
Just as he knew better than all his generals, who warned against the Iraq War.
Just as he knows better than the jury and judge who convicted "Scooter" Libby of perjury charges.
Just as he knows better than the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners.
Just as he knows better than the Constitution of the United States of America about this country's checks and balances.
This president knows EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING and the sooner we all come to that conclusion, they better off we all will be.
Resistance is futile.
With all my love,
Aunty Em
No, this doesn't fit the "war on science" narrative at all, it's a completely different kind of story.
Except that the context for it is the overall short-budgeting, which does fit into the WoS theme. BTW, if it's the case that QuickScat is the only long-term big-budget aspect of the shortfall, then Proenza may be doing the right thing here. It takes years to build and deploy a sat, whereas hurricane hunter flights can be added from one year to the next. The involvement in this of Mayfield has a slight odor to it, since he more or less acted the role of the good soldier throughout the Bush regime's shorting of his budget.
The budget substance aside, obviously Proenza didn't cover his back with the forecasters. OTOH he's not an idiot, and probably thought he did have that covered. Mayfield? Higher-ups who have already made it clear they want to get rid of Proenza? IMHO reporters should be interested in this angle.