New Hurricane Honcho
In an amazing break with the policy of the Shrubbery, the new man slated to take over the National Hurricane Center actually appears to be qualified for the job.
The Miami Herald reports: New director of hurricane center urges public readiness
It’s official: Veteran weather service administrator Bill Proenza will become director of the National Hurricane Center when Max Mayfield retires next month.
[snip]
In the past, most center directors were selected from within the ranks of hurricane forecasters or researchers. The choice of Proenza indicates that officials at NOAA headquarters in Washington sought someone from within their management comfort zone, but he also has extensive forecasting experience.
Proenza served during the early 1960s as an intern at the hurricane center and flew aboard hurricane hunter missions, though he spent much of his recent career as a NOAA administrator.
In his current position, Proenza manages nearly 1,000 forecasters and other employees in 32 offices in Florida and nine other states.
He actually has education and experience in the field, and work experience in the geographic areas most affected by the 2004 & 2005 hurricane seasons. Perhaps the fact that he is currently based in Texas was enough.
2 comments
Ah more appointments for the Texas Mafia! *smile*
But – at this point – and given the usual knuckleheads he nominates – I’ll take a qualified Texan Mafioso!
Actually Proenza was born in New York and went to school in Florida. He was in Texas only because the Weather Service regional office is in Texas.