CREDIT: NOAA
The head of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, has been placed on leave after a rebellion by fellow forecasters and staff. William Proenza (above), a longtime National Weather Service official and forecaster, has publicly complained about the center's budget since becoming director 7 months ago. One gripe was that its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hadn't prepared to replace the aging QuikSCAT, a NASA satellite. Proenza had warned that its loss could worsen 3-day hurricane track forecasts by 16%.
But prominent center staff questioned the satellite's importance. And, in an unusually public letter last week, 23 of 50 center staff called for Proenza's removal, lamenting the "unfortunate public debate" over the center's forecasting ability. In May, NOAA chief Conrad Lautenbacher called Proenza's bluntness "one reason why we love him," but in a letter this week to center staff, he said there was "anxiety and disruption" at the center and that Proenza was leaving. Officials, who aren't saying why the move was made, have put center deputy Edward Rappaport in charge.
