Tomorrow (Thursday, July 19, from 10am until 12pm EDT), the House Committee on
Science and Technology is holding a hearing "Tracking the Storm
at the National Hurricane Center". You can view the press
releases and listen to a webcast of the hearing at the Committee web site. And here is a round up of related news articles (oldest at the bottom of the post, newer articles ascending to the top):
Hurricane Center's ex-chief to tell Congress his side (Houston Chronicle)
To some who have followed the controversy, the panel appears to be
stacked in favor of Proenza, who chastised his bosses for not hurrying
a replacement to the QuikSCAT satellite. The instrument provides
sea-level surface wind measurements, and Proenza said its loss would
put lives at stake. Proenza and Atlas claim the satellite is an
essential component of hurricane forecast models. Other scientists have
disagreed. "No QuikSCAT science expert besides Dr. Atlas is scheduled to
testify," said Jeff Masters, chief meteorologist for The Weather
Underground, a popular weather Web site."This concerns me, because Dr. Atlas has thus far not addressed in
his public comments, that I have seen, the very high scientific
uncertainty of how much QuikSCAT data impact track forecasts of
land-falling hurricanes. It is my view that the loss of the QuikSCAT
satellite will not significantly degrade the accuracy of these
forecasts, and this viewpoint will not get heard."
Queries from Klein (Bob King ---Palm Beach Post)
The congressional hearing
on Hurricane Proenza doesn’t begin until 10 a.m. tomorrow, but we
already know what at least one of the participants will be saying. Clairvoyance? No, I just got a press release. But in any case, it
looks like Florida’s Rep. Ron Klein will be asking questions about what
he calls an apparent flip-flop by Bill Proenza’s critics regarding the controversial QuikSCAT satellite.
Proenza hearing may stir new fury (Miami Herald)
A congressional committee will hear testimony about the crisis at
the hurricane center and appears to be sympathetic to the ousted
director.
Hurricane Center storm hits Congress (Bradenton Herald)
Though they are scheduled to testify at different times, the hearing
could produce a good bit of heat between Proenza, who lost his job
after criticizing his bosses and alienating much of his staff, and
Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, who lowered the boom on Proenza last week.In
addition, the NOAA team that conducted a snap inspection of the center
in West Miami-Dade County, investigating Proenza's six-month reign
there, is scheduled to deliver its report Friday."I thought this
thing was almost over, but it keeps haunting us," said Lixion Avila, a
senior forecaster at the hurricane center.
U.S. House to review storm-center probe (Miami-Herald)
NOAA mapped plans to reveal its findings about deposed storm chief Bill Proenza as lawyers met with forecasters.
Federal officials, apparently planning to go on the offensive in the
saga of Bill Proenza and the National Hurricane Center, will reveal to
a congressional panel the findings of a team that investigated the
embattled center, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Storm center's ousted director plans to testify (Orlando-Sentinel)
WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats have asked the ousted director of the
National Hurricane Center to testify Thursday about whether his abrupt removal
was retaliation for his criticism of his Washington bosses. But staffers at the center based west of Miami who signed a July letter
that resulted in Bill Proenza's ouster after only six months on the job
blasted the hearing as a one-sided sham -- and angrily objected to suggestions
that some were "pressured" into signing that letter.
Editorial: Director pays price for candor (TC Palm)
Bill Proenza embarrassed his bosses by going public with complaints of funding priorities.His bosses embarrassed themselves with the heavy-handed manner in which they stripped him of his job.
Hurricane-warning flags to be raised on Thursday (Miami Herald/Bradenton Herald)
MIAMI - The hurricane-warning flags will fly over the nation's capital Thursday.While
the Tropics remain calm early in this hurricane season, a big blow is
expected before a congressional panel looking into the operations of
the National Weather Service, which predicts and tracks the big storms.
The clouds have gathered every day this week at the headquarters of the
hurricane center in Miami and at the parent National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C.
Hurricane Center Crisis Heads To Congress (CBS4--Washington)
SLIDESHOW: Inside the National Hurricane Center
CBS4)
WASHINGTON Bill Proenza, the ousted director of the National
Hurricane Center is scheduled to testify before Congress this week
about storm tracking. A
joint congressional subcommittee has scheduled the hearing for Thursday
morning. The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Conrad C. Lautenbacher, is scheduled to testify as well.
Hurricane Wars: The saga continues (The Orlando-Sentinel)
If George Lucas wanted to use the ongoing conflicts in the hurricane
research community as a source of cinematic inspiration, he'd have
enough material from the past few years to fill out not one but two
full movies.
Turbulence At Storm Center (The Ledger)
Ed Rappaport, who was named interim director of the National Hurricane
Center last week, sounds like a solid choice to help guide storm-wary
residents of Florida and other coastal states through the current
tropical season. But the change in command doesn't wash away serious
questions raised during the short tenure of Rappaport's predecessor,
Bill Proenza.
Proenza fight: It ain’t over yet (Bob King - Palm Beach Post)
It looks like not everyone is satisfied with last week’s stormy conclusion
to the Bill Proenza saga, in which the controversial National Hurricane
Center director went on “indefinite leave” and the veteran,
Mayfield-era No. 2 guy Ed Rappaport became acting director...But not the U.S. House Science and Technology Committee, which is planning subcommittee hearings at 10 a.m. Thursday on a topic that still has many NHC-watchers puzzled: What the heck happened, anyway? Continue here.
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