There are all kinds of accusations flying about Bill Proenza, the hurricane center director. Yet most of it seems to relate to the fact that he has complained about lack of funding for hurricane research at NOAA...and his pointing out that an aging satellite could fail at any time.
What I can't understand is why forecasters at the center are among the ones calling for him to leave, saying he is undermining public confidence.
Why aren't the forecasters speaking out about this instead of asking for him to resign.
I found 3 articles, and I am still not sure of why the anger toward him. Maybe I am missing something. We had 3 hurricane eyes pass nearly on top of us in 2004, and I for one want to be informed.
From one article it appears that a lot of the controversy is swirling about him because forecasters say hurricane hunter planes can do as well as the aging satellite, and that money would be better spent on the planes.
I say, why not both?
Storm Chief Defies Calls to ResignMIAMI - Embattled hurricane center director Bill Proenza on Friday angrily defied calls from a mutinous staff for his dismissal. At the same time, he said he would discuss "the way forward" with his superiors in Washington.
"I'm not going to resign," he told The Miami Herald. "The staff here doesn't dictate who the leader is. What a dangerous precedent when we allow subordinates to dictate their leadership by signing a petition."
His comments came a day after nearly half of the staff of the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County joined the revolt against him, issuing a statement calling for his immediate dismissal.
..."They said his public statements about an aging satellite have undermined confidence in their forecasts. Others think that his frequent clashes with superiors in Washington have become a serious distraction as the hurricane season deepens.
And SciGuy blog gives him kudos.
Senior hurricane researcher: You go, Bill Proenza!Margie Kieper at Weather Underground has been doing a nice job following events, which seem to have turned in Proenza's favor. He's got public support, and the support of some federal legislators from Florida.
..."Yesterday I learned that he also had the support of Hugh Willoughby, who directed NOAA's hurricane research from 1995 to 2002 and has flown a remarkable 400 times into storms. I spoke to Willoughby, now a distinguished professor at Florida International University, for a related story on hurricanes, and asked him about the Proenza imbroglio:
"I'm the founding member of a chapter of the Bill Proenza Fan Club here at FIU," Willoughby said, adding that he left NOAA because of constant budget battles.
Willoughby said NOAA would "be really stupid to fire him," noting that Proenza's reputation is one for looking "after his agency's best interests rather than the interests of his bosses."
And another article which also makes me think I would like to have someone speaking out like this.
He has harmed public confidence in their forecasts, 3 on his staff sayMIAMI — Three senior forecasters at the National Hurricane Center called Tuesday for the ouster of recently appointed director Bill Proenza, saying he has damaged public confidence in their forecasts, fractured morale and lost their support.
"I don't think that Bill can continue here," said James Franklin, one of five senior forecasters at the center.
"I don't think he can be an effective leader."
Two others — Richard Pasch and Rick Knabb — told The Miami Herald that they concur.
"We need a change of leadership here at the hurricane center," Pasch said.
"It's pretty much as simple as that."
And from that same article, I see the words Washington harassment toward the center because of his speaking out.
'Washington harassment'
Some forces expressed support for Proenza, but with pressure intensifying from within and without, Proenza's grip on the $150,000-a-year job he accepted just six months ago seemed increasingly at risk.
He said late Tuesday that he will not resign and blamed the center's morale problems on "Washington harassment," a reference to a letter of reprimand he received last month and the unannounced inspection by five federal officials, including a lawyer who specializes in personnel matters.
Why aren't others concerned that satellite might fail? That seems to be the crux of the problem.
The developments come after months of controversy ignited by Proenza's public attacks on NOAA. He has been particularly critical of the agency's failure to prepare a replacement for a weather satellite that already is beyond its designed life span. The QuikScat satellite measures wind speeds over distant areas of the ocean.
...."Knabb and Mayfield said Proenza has exaggerated the magnitude of the satellite issue, unintentionally leaving the public — and Congress — with the impression that forecasters are not capable of doing their jobs. No one doubts the satellite's importance when it comes to storms far out to sea, but the senior forecasters said its loss would not compromise the accuracy of forecasts of storms that are approaching land — the most important forecasts they issue. Hurricane hunter planes provide much more crucial data about those threats.
In response to Proenza's comments, some members of Congress have suggested transferring funds from hurricane hunter missions to development of a QuikScat replacement. That could lead to disaster, the forecasters said.
Why aren't the forecasters in Miami pushing for every means of surveillance to be available to them instead of pushing for the firing of Proenza?
Why are the forecasters not wanting to speak out about the satellite? In America we used to have both...the planes and the satellites.
I must be dense, because I do not understand.
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