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Neil Jacobs, Acting Chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sent an email to all staff members on Friday afternoon in an apparent effort to repair the damage caused by an unusual statement from September 6 that had sided with the President Donald Trump rather than weather forecasts.
The controversial NOAA statement, unsigned, reprimanded the National Weather Service forecasters who had tweeted that Alabama would "NOT see the impacts" of Hurricane Dorian after Trump mistakenly tweeted that the state "would be very probably (a lot) hit harder than expected ". "
The Washington Post reported that Jacobs and NOAA Chief of Staff Julie Kay Roberts were involved in drafting the statement, which reprimanded the Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama, for speaking out "for absolute terms ". However, Jacobs objected to the publication of such a statement and also tried to block the paragraph that called the office of the Birmingham Meteorological Service, but lost both arguments, according to two people who spoke to The Post.
The Post then announced that this statement was the result of the order given to Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce, to order Jacobs to settle the problems at Trump's request, through his Chief of Staff by interim, Mick Mulvaney.
In the staff e-mail on Friday with the subject "Keeping the NOAA Mission," Jacobs praised the forecasters for their efforts during Dorian, highlighting in particular the efforts of the Birmingham office.
"During Hurricane Dorian, our weather forecasting offices, including Birmingham and the National Hurricane Center, have made every effort to produce accurate and up-to-date weather forecasts, in order to inform the general public and the public. 39, ensure the safety of the public, "wrote Jacobs.
Jacobs also praised the Birmingham office during a speech delivered Tuesday at the National Weather Association's annual conference in Huntsville, Alabama.
"We fully understand and support the good intention of the Birmingham Meteorological Bureau, which was to calm fears and support public security," he said.
Many critics of the NOAA statement feared that this would weaken public confidence in the weather service by placing politics above science. They were also worried about damage to forecasters' morale. Jacobs' letter was a clear conciliation effort to address both of these concerns head-on.
"The American people depend on our agency," wrote Jacobs. "There is no doubt in my mind that we will continue to provide expert analysis and forecasts to keep Americans safe and that all our offices and staff will support the American public at these events, and our work saves lives."
Jacobs added that he planned to visit the country's forecast offices to begin a dialogue with the staff.
Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy of the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in an email that Jacobs and NOAA "take the measures that are required to repair the damage" of all this saga.
"The question will be whether Secretary Ross and the White House will make the same commitment," wrote Halpern. "Until now, their silence has been said."
House Democrats have launched an investigation into the issue, as have the Department of Commerce's Inspector General and NOAA Acting Chief Scientist, Craig McLean. A key issue to consider is whether NOAA's statement violated the agency's policy of scientific integrity.
In the last line of his email, Jacobs wrote:[o]Our team is committed to defending scientific integrity, "which probably reflects the agency's commitment to this value despite the measures taken a week earlier.
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