"NOAA’s leader, Jane Lubchenco, announced [Wednesday] morning she is leaving the agency at the end of February (2013)."
"Her departure adds another critical vacancy within NOAA’s hierarchy. In May, Jack Hayes- then head of NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) - retired after an investigation found senior staff had misdirected millions of dollars in funds. A permanent replacement has not been named. Laura Furgione has been the acting director.
The NWS has been subject to recent criticism over its handling of warnings during Superstorm Sandy and its post-storm review process. And on Tuesday, University of Washington professor Cliff Mass published a scathing blog post criticizing the NWS for falling behind the Europeans in weather prediction technology."
Jason Samenow reports for the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang blog December 12, 2012.
