The head of the high-profile US National Hurricane Center (NHC) was ousted on Monday following a storm of controversy over his harsh criticism of his employers and a near-mutiny by forecasters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the center's parent agency, on Monday announced the appointment of a new NHC director to replace the controversial Bill Proenza, who had only been named to the job six months ago.
Ed Rappaport was named acting director.
The decision aimed at settling the turbulent uproar that emerged at the Miami-based NHC at a critical time for forecasters trying to determine when and where the next potentially deadly storm may slam ashore.
Proenza had made national headlines recently when he accused his superiors at NOAA of squandering millions of dollars to mark the agency's "bogus" 200th anniversary, while a wind-measuring satellite used by forecasters is falling in disrepair.
But staff at the center said that while the QuikScat satellite was important, its failure would not significantly impact hurricane prediction.
Several of the forecasters had claimed the statements undermined public faith in vital hurricane forecasts, and called for Proenza's resignation, saying in a statement that "with the heart of the hurricane season fast approaching" this should happen as soon as possible.
The six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1, is generally at its most active in August and September, and experts expect a total of nine to 10 Atlantic hurricanes to form in the course of 2007.
So far this year, only one tropical storm formed in the Atlantic, on the first day of the official season, but it failed to develop into a full-blown hurricane.
Source: Agence France-Presse
