Commerce “Sharpiegate” report finally released without redaction

Enlarge / Hurricane Dorian on September 3, 2019. (credit: NASA EO)

Recent weeks have seen some additional drama over last September's hurricane dust-up between President Trump and the National Weather Service. Last week, the Commerce Department's inspector general was crying foul over leadership stonewalling the release of her report on any legal issues arising from the dustup. That report is now out, and it brings some resolution to the tale.

If you're unfamiliar with the background, as Hurricane Dorian approached the US coast, President Trump tweeted that Alabama would most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated"-a statement that was untrue, as the storm was set to turn north and up the Eastern Seaboard. His statement, however, prompted calls from concerned people in Alabama, who wondered if the forecast had changed. In response, the Birmingham National Weather Service office tweeted, Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian."

Annoyance and investigations

This tweet perturbed the White House, eventually resulting in a controversial, unsigned statement released by NOAA that essentially said the president was technically right and the Birmingham office should have qualified their tweet. (There was also an incident in which a hurricane forecast map in the Oval Office was modified with a black marker to make it look like Alabama might have been in danger.)

Read 16 remaining paragraphs | Comments