With severe hurricane season predicted, Jeff Landry announces changes to state climatologist role

Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday he is bringing his new state climatologist, longtime Baton Rouge television meteorologist Jay Grymes, under Louisiana's homeland security office to better link climate information with emergency planners and strengthen the state's ability to prepare the public.

Landry, who has previously described the science around human-caused climate change as a "hoax," did not directly answer a question about global warming's contribution to intensifying storms as he introduced Grymes at a news conference.

The structural change comes as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecasted an 85% chance of an above-normal hurricane season with up to 25 named storms.

Up to 13 named storms could become hurricanes and four to seven of them Category 3 or greater, meaning they pack winds of at least 111 mph, NOAA says.

Grimes was introduced as state climatologist at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge and Landry said the change in structure addressed a deficiency that his transition identified.

The governor spoke of emergency planning drills conducted early in his term where he noticed that no meteorologist was on hand in the homeland security office while he and others were receiving weather information.

"And so having someone sitting inside of this building working directly with Jacques (Thibodeaux) on a regular basis is positive," Landry said, referring to the head of the governor's emergency preparedness office. "And so, I don't know how it worked before, but I'm telling you how it's going to work now."

The state climatologist leads the Louisiana Office of State Climatology, which has been based at LSU. Officials said the office will remain across town at LSU. Grymes will have dual roles, leading that office but being an employee of GOHSEP.

Thibodeaux added that it has "always been a weakness that we've never had a climatologist within GOHSEP that could reach out to all those 64 parish offices of emergency preparedness and 304 municipalities." During major storms and other events, GOHSEP routinely disseminates information to local leaders.

Nearly three weeks ago, Grymes announced he would be retiring from WAFB-TV after serving as its chief meteorologist for 21 years, but he has long had roles within the state office of homeland security and the climatology office. 

Grymes replaces Barry Keim, an LSU professor who had held the position since 2003. Early this year, Keim was pushed out by LSU leaders amid criticism from farming interests over information his office produced about a severe drought last year.

The information can affect federal government drought payments for farmers. He and others said he was mistakenly being criticized over the issue. 

In addition to roles speaking with the public and state and local officials, the state climatologist is responsible for archiving historical climate data, monitoring the climate and providing information for the "Louisiana Crop Weather Summary."

Grymes called the new expanded role of the climatologist's job an advantage for him, LSU and the state homeland security office to "serve the citizens of Louisiana."

He offers a familiar face to the capital region with an easy demeanor and smooth communication skills who more than two decades ago had once before served as state climatologist.

Thibodeaux put those skills to a test during the news conference when he asked Grymes for a quick assessment of the risk that the Category 4 Hurricane Beryl posed to the state.

Grymes said Beryl will likely not be a threat for Louisiana but warned this hurricane season will be an active one, or perhaps, a "hyper-active" one.

"So don't use up your energy with this storm, which is almost certainly not going to affect Louisiana. This is a storm, though, to use as finalizing your preps for the rest of the hurricane season," he said. 

Only a month into hurricane season, the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea are already on their second named storm. Beryl was bearing down on Jamaica Wednesday with winds of 143 mph. The storm could ultimately head for the southern Texas and northern Mexico coasts, according to National Hurricane Center forecasts.

Taking questions from reporters, Landry was asked what his and Grimes' understanding was about climate change's contribution to dangerous weather events such as hurricanes and persistent high heat. Landry said he was excited to have a climatologist on board who looks at weather changes over the long term.

"I don't think anyone will deny that the Earth's climate has consistently changed over the years. You know, right now, we're experiencing a tremendous amount of maybe warming," Landry said. "We could be talking in many, many years about how we're all freezing, and so again I think it's important to have someone like Jay who can create a historical perspective and then tie that into the current events."

NOAA has attributed the expected above-normal storm activity to a "confluence of factors" that all tend "to favor tropical storm formation." Those factors are abetted by human-caused climate change, which is heating ocean temperatures that fuel hurricanes.

The state Department of Health says "the frequency, severity, and duration of extreme heat events are increasing due to climate change."

Hurricane Beryl's intensification broke a record on Monday. It became the earliest storm ever to hit Category 4 and Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, according to the Associated Press.

The storm hit 165 mph winds early Tuesday. Since then, the winds have died down some but remain powerful and present a risk of catastrophic damage to structures.

NOAA says the conditions favoring an active hurricane season include near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, the end of an El Nino period in the Pacific Ocean and a transition into La Nina conditions, which tend to cut down on wind shear in the Atlantic.

In addition to reduced Atlantic trade winds, the reduction of wind shear eases the formation of hurricanes, NOAA said.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30.