Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy
The Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy, also referred to as Sharpiegate, arose from a comment made by then U.S. President Donald Trump on September 1, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian approached the U.S. mainland. Mentioning states that would likely be impacted by the storm, he incorrectly included Alabama, which by then was known not to be under threat from the storm. After many residents of Alabama called the local weather bureau to ask about it, the bureau issued a reassurance that Alabama was not expected to be hit by the storm.
Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump In addition to Florida - South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated. Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!
September 1, 2019
Over the following week, Trump repeatedly insisted his comment had been correct. On September 4, he showed reporters a weather map which had been altered with a black Sharpie marker to show the hurricane's track threatening Alabama. He also reportedly ordered his aides to obtain an official retraction of the weather bureau's comment that the storm was not headed for Alabama. On September 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an unsigned statement in support of Trump's initial claim, saying that National Hurricane Center (NHC) models "demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama."
Multiple agencies investigated the possibility that the Trump administration exerted political influence over NOAA, and in June and July 2020, two investigations were completed, one from the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and another from the United States Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General (OIG). The NAPA report released on June 15 found that both Neil Jacobs, the acting NOAA administrator, and Julie Kay Roberts, the former NOAA deputy chief of staff and communications director, twice violated codes of the agency's scientific integrity policy amid their involvement in the NOAA statement. On July 9, the inspector general of the Commerce Department issued a report confirming that Commerce officials had responded to orders from the White House which resulted in the statement issued by the NOAA. A third report was published by the Biden administration's scientific integrity task force of the National Science and Technology Council and released in January 2022.
The alteration of official government weather forecasts is illegal per 18 U.S. Code 2074, and is punishable by fine or imprisonment or a combination of both.