Nation's top weather officials resign

AP ^ | 19 May 07

[leadpenny]

WASHINGTON - One day after its hurricane forecasters complained of budget cuts, the head of the National Weather Service and his deputy announced they will retire next month.

David Johnson, the director, and John Jones, the deputy director, plan to bow out at the end of June, according to an internal memo they sent Friday to staff of the nation's weather agency.

On Thursday, the AP reported that the director of the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, which is part of the weather service, believes the government is wasting millions of dollars on advertising while shortchanging his hurricane forecasters' budget.

Bill Proenza, the center's director, said in an interview that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent of the weather service, is spending up to $4 million to publicize its 200th anniversary while cutting $700,000 for hurricane research. A NOAA spokesman said the agency plans to spend $1.5 million.

The day after that report, the weather service's top two officials, Johnson and Jones, announced their resignations to staff, but did not mention Proenza's criticisms.

Johnson has been head of the weather service since 2004 and formerly was a brigadier general in the Air Force. He told co-workers that the agency faces many challenges but his job has been "a superbly fulfilling opportunity."

Their departures were first reported by the Miami Herald.

NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher thanked Johnson and Jones for their service.

Lautenbacher said he is naming assistant administrator Mary Glackin as acting head of the weather service and Vickie Nadolski, director of the service's western region, as acting assistant administrator.

[pissant]

Fellers, take the entire dept with you please. ALong with 75% of the rest of the DC bureaucracies.

[leadpenny]

What’s in the 75% that goes, feller? Or, what stays?

[Ken522]

... while cutting $700,000 for hurricane research.

So what is that, about 4 people?

[Tarpon]

Yep, my sentiments exactly, take them all, save the money. Just put the satellite, aircraft observations and doppler radar data on-line. There are enough universities and private firms with prediction programs. Cuts down on the hype and increases the information flow. The local weather guy can handle the rest. Competition is a good thing, even in hurricane forecasting

If climate prediction programs are so accurate for 100 years, surly computerized hurricane forecasts are 100% now, so who needs people.

[NonValueAdded]

Let’s see if I have this straight ... the two that resigned are in the middle layer of this federal wedding cake. NOAA is on top and the bride and groom are spending tons of money on their anniversary party. Down at the bottom of the cake, the layer holding the whole thing up is the National Hurricane Center, an agency vital to coastal interests and one that might even pass Ron Paul’s Constitutional muster as being one of the few legitimate Commerce Clause functions of gubermint. So, the middle men, who could have brought the whole thing crashing down by speaking out on this waste of money on a party simply scoot off to the freezer, letting the top of the cake settle not so gently on the NHC. Do they care more for their pensions than they did for their agency?

[frankjr]

“David Johnson, the director, and John Jones, the deputy director, plan to bow out at the end of June”

Adios. Maybe they can use their fine prediction skills on the Miss Cleo psychic hot line.

[KarlInOhio]

So, the middle men, who could have brought the whole thing crashing down by speaking out on this waste of money on a party simply scoot off to the freezer, letting the top of the cake settle not so gently on the NHC. Do they care more for their pensions than they did for their agency?

Had they been announcing NOAA's misspending before? Was the press paying any attention to them? They might have felt that this was the only way to publicly embarrass NOAA and shuffle the spending around. Would this have even hit the press if just one quit in protest? Sometimes the resignation letter is the only thing that will get attention.

[pissant]

Jeez. Where to start?

75% of the USDA should go: For example -

Office of Community Development
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Rural Housing Service
Rural Utilities Service
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
Food and Nutrition Service
National Arboretum
Subtropical Agricultural Research Laboratory
Board of Contract Appeals
Civil Rights
Ethics Office
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Risk management agency

That’s just within one monster Exec Dept.(one that has some legitimacy), to be repeated for each one that stays in bizness.

Ones that should be gone altogether:

Dept of Ed., DHHS, DHS, HUD, Dept of Labor.

[Condor51]

Bill Proenza, the center's director, said in an interview that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent of the weather service, is spending up to $4 million to publicize its 200th anniversary while cutting $700,000 for hurricane research. A NOAA spokesman said the agency plans to spend $1.5 million.

Well sheesh, that makes a WORLD of difference then. They're only going to spend $1,500,000.00 to celebrate their 200th birthday -- oops, 'anniversary' -- not $4,000,000.00.

I feel much better now.

[leadpenny]

Of course there is the Department of Commerce on top of NOAA.

[leadpenny]

It’ seems neither part wants to make a dent. After the 94 election the GOP targeted two or three departments. Nothing happened.

[pissant]

Sadly, you are correct.

[Publius6961]

I'm afraid to google these guys to find out how much time the spent doing their jobs, and how much time scaring the public with their opinion (Global Warming BS...)

Might be a good thing...

[MizSterious]

Who needs people? What an idiotic, foolish comment. Hurricane prediction, which is a little like junior tornado tracking, is much more than computerized predictions. As those of us in tornado country know, computers are often wrong, and it’s the people (not computers) who are good at what they do that get it right. Computers often show a trend, but weather doesn’t always follow the trends.

[Tarpon]

oops, I think you missed the point completely ...

Computer models are great and very accurate for predicting the climate in 100 years, why aren’t they good enough for hurricanes next week?

Maybe the joke wasn’t clear enough ...

[NonZeroSum]

Computer models are great and very accurate for predicting the climate in 100 years, why aren’t they good enough for hurricanes next week?

Because climate isn't weather.

[MizSterious]

Sorry, yes, I missed it entirely. I’ve seen comments like yours that were not joking, too. My apologies.

[Liberty Valance]

Those pesky ad budgets...proving that propaganda is far more effective than living, breathing scientists and actual research.