I am a theoretical physicist and currently Director of 
August 29, 2011
Hurricane Irene
Cleveland was not in the path of Irene so we just observed it from afar but I am puzzled by those who now claim that it was over-hyped, merely because it caused less damage than expected.
It is quite extraordinary that the National Hurricane Center is able to predict the track and intensity of a swirling storm five days out with pretty good precision, enabling cities and people to take safety precautions. David Kurtz points out that there have been huge gains recently in the ability to predict the track of hurricanes, and less progress in our ability to predict the intensity, as was the case with Irene.
But it was still quite an impressive feat for which the people at the NHC deserve a lot of credit.
Comments
Don't expect anyone on the right to give credit where credit's due. That would contradict the narrative that government is bad. Only our brave troops deserve recognition. The rest of those Democrat-voting civil servants should have their pay and benefits cut to match the levels that now obtain in the (depressed) private sector.
The government was well prepared to handle hurrican Irene. The troops need to be appreciated for taking all the necessary precautions. NEver know if the worst had happened, People would blame each other and no one takes responsibility.
Remember the fallout from the way the Katrina aftermath was mishandled???? Thankfully, those in charge in NY, NJ, MD, NC et al heeded the lessons of history- prepared for the worst- and were pleasantly surprised.