Responsible for protecting life and property from severe weather impacts, the National Weather Service is headed into hurricane season with 30 of its 122 weather forecast offices lacking their most experienced official, known as the meteorologist-in-charge.
These include offices that cover major population centers such as New York City, Cleveland, Houston and Tampa.
There is not a single manager in place at the hurricane-prone Houston-Galveston forecast office, according to a NOAA staff member who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Something you don’t really realize unless you live in an area like Houston, is that while a Hurricane is large, slow moving and often known days in advance — there’s a lot more to it than that when you are in the path. Left side, or right side of the cone? That matters for damage and whether you should leave. A slight shift in the path means that maybe you should stay put and let others leave. How much surge? Rain? Wind? Hail? Tornados? Is it going to stall out, or tear through?
There’s multitude of small data points which drive personal and city/county decision making. And it all relies on forecasters. All of it.