Weatherman goes rogue on live TV with grave warning about hurricane season: 'I am here to tell you I'm not sure I can do that this year'
A meteorologist for Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ had a frank, chilling warning for his audience about an unprecedented hurricane season this year.
On June 1, John Morales addressed his audience, which is in a hurricane-prone area, per the Guardian.
WTVJ shared a clip of Morales' segment, which began with an archival hurricane forecast from "about six years ago." In the earlier footage, Morales assured viewers that the hurricane then being tracked "would turn," and he provided an estimate for when the turn would likely occur.
"Remember that?" Morales asked as the clip ended. After identifying the older forecast as one from Hurricane Dorian, the weatherman segued into a jarring warning.
"As you've grown accustomed to my presentations over my 34 years in South Florida newscasts, confidently, I went on TV and I told you, 'It's going to turn, you don't need to worry,'" Morales began. However, what he said next was blunt and concerning.
"And I am here to tell you I'm not sure I can do that this year. Because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general," Morales continued, referencing well-documented cuts to both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service.
Morales lamented a "multigenerational impact on science in this country," stemming from broad cuts to our meteorological infrastructure.
Meteorologists understand the dire risks posed by extreme weather extremely well, and it can be deeply unsettling when they're visibly unmoored — as Morales was in the viral segment.
Weather experts have been sounding the alarm about hurricane season in the United States nonstop. In addition to NOAA and the NWS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency also faced massive, abrupt cuts and a leadership shakeup.
"This type of staffing shortage is having impacts across the nation because there has been a 20% reduction in weather balloon releases, launches. What we are starting to see is the quality of the forecast is becoming degraded," Morales said.
By all accounts, hurricane season this year is likely to involve "above-average" activity. With NOAA, the NWS, and FEMA in "unprecedented disarray," our ability to model storm trajectories and to respond to hard-hit areas is severely diminished.
In March, Accuweather urged readers to prepare for an active hurricane season this year.
As Morales observed, forecasts are likely to be less reliable, leaving those in hurricane-prone areas more vulnerable. Prepacking a hurricane "go bag" allows quicker action in the event of a sudden or short-notice evacuation order.
Broadly, becoming familiar with best practices during an active hurricane before one hits can go a long way in protecting people and property.
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