Gary Szatkowski, who was a federal forecaster in New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy, called on New York politicians because they suggested the forecasts were unable to predict the timing and intensity of Ida’s threats.
“Politicians are wrong,” Szatkowski said in a Friday evening interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.” “There were many warnings, there were many predictions, many warnings issued regarding Ida when she arrived in the region with chances of heavy rainfall.”
At least 13 people in the New York City area died when the remnants of Hurricane Ida ravaged the city with record rainfall and flooding. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated Friday that city officials had no idea what New York City was about to play on Wednesday night.
“That’s what we didn’t know, that we would have literally shocking and unprecedented rainfall,” de Blasio said during a media availability. “We had a one-hour period Wednesday night that set the one-hour historical record in history, the recorded history of New York City, and no one projected it to arrive.”
Szatkowski pointed out accurate predictions of meteorologists and meteorological experts before the storm during dangerous, even fatal rainfall in the New York area.
He also noted that New York City officials could simply “look west” to see what was happening and send warnings to residents hours before the rain landed in the city.
“There were flash floods, torrential rains, water rescue first, in Pennsylvania, then in Philadelphia itself, then in New Jersey, and then it came to New York City, and there are hours and hours. York, be be prepared and be aware of what was about to happen, ”said Szatkowski, a former National Meteorological Service meteorologist.
Blasio’s mayor’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment