Peter the Meteor(ologist) - 10. A Big Oops

You can look to the left and look to the right
But you will live in danger tonite
When the enemy comes he will never be heard
He'll blow your mind and not say a word
Blinding lights-flashing colors
Sleepless nights
If the man with the power
Can't keep it under control
Some heads are gonna roll

Judas Priest - 1984

29

Peter and Elena were astounded. Elena told the staff that Jonathan would be making an announcement, indicating Calvin would hit near Biloxi, MS. The team was gathered in a conference room to review the announcement when it came. Jonathan's announcement was somehow preceded by another. A warning from the NOAA was reported first:

'The NOAA wishes to inform the public and all weather stations that an unauthorized warning will soon be announced by the National Hurricane Center. Please disregard that message as it contains conclusions made from a non-scientific method and cannot be considered accurate. The NOAA stands by its current projection that Hurricane Calvin will reach landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama. People in the Gulf Shores area should continue to make preparations to withstand the full brunt of Calvin's fury.'

Ten minutes after receiving the NOAA's warning, Jonathan's came through along with the qualifier. Weather stations all along the gulf coast were confused. While the NOAA had ultimate responsibility, Mississippi's Weather Center did not know which way to lean. A call to the NOAA resulted in another threat of termination should they repeat the NHC's warning. Mississipi's Hurricane Center was given no choice but to sit on Jonathan's version.

Fortunately, the individual meteorologists in the immediate Biloxi area had no direct association with the NOAA and would make their own decisions. Unfortunately, in a case right out of George Orwell's 1984, the NOAA intercepted and blocked ninety percent of Jonathan's warnings. Only a few independent stations in the Biloxi area were able to get the message out to the people.

Three days later, the result was catastrophic. Calvin veered off to his left three hours before the expected landfall near Gulf shores. The NOAA couldn't and wouldn't prevent the forecasts once the turn occurred. Instead of making landfall at approximately seven AM in Gulf Shores, it made landfall just after noon at Biloxi Bay, just under three miles from the center of Biloxi. But the true warnings came too late.

The storm destroyed the mile and half section of route ninety that was the Biloxi Bay Bridge. While a number of residents heard those earlier warnings and evacuated earlier, many who waited were stranded on route ninety, heading in either direction away from the bridge. While only twelve cars were traversing the bridge when it was destroyed, all thirty persons present were killed. On the Biloxi side of the bay, the death toll was initially severely under-reported at approximately two thousand. East of the bridge, the hurricane's force was slightly less, but there were still an initial twelve hundred deaths indicated.

In the aftermath, the true numbers came to light. Biloxi itself lost nearly a quarter of its residents, with just over eleven thousand deceased. Biloxi's immediate northern and western suburbs added another four thousand plus to the body count. The numbers weren't as drastically under-reported east of the bay, but there were still just under two thousand casualties. A slightly larger number, eighteen thousand five hundred and twelve, were reported injured.

There was really no way to accurately estimate the monetary cost of the hurricane's damage. Numbers from two to five billion dollars were the most commonly reported, with one estimate, which included life insurance considerations, exceeding ten billion dollars. In an unprecedented legal case, NOAA Administrator, Eric Griffin, was convicted of seventeen thousand, two hundred and sixteen counts of negligent homicide. Griffin was sentenced to over four hundred and thirty thousand years in a federal prison. The eighteen thousand five hundred and twelve counts of negligent assault Griffin was convicted of, were suspended. What's another fifty-five thousand years amongst friends?

30/Epilogue

On the other side of the coin, in January of 2057, Peter Noonan was named Texas' Man of the Year. The yearly average of 0.8 hurricanes was doubled once and a half over. Both hurricanes to hit the Texas coast in 2056 veered off of the consensus models. One by twelve miles, and another by fourteen. Not very far, but it was enough to warn the right areas with sufficient time to avoid numerous deaths. There were nearly a dozen more meteorological awards that Peter received in early 2057.

After the Biloxi catastrophe, Jonathan Barkley and the National Hurricane Center consulted Peter for every tropical storm. In January of 2058, Peter was named numerous magazines' man of the year. People, Time, and National Geographic were among them. Nineteen hurricanes hit the Atlantic in 2057, and eleven the Pacific. Combined, eight of them were significantly different than the model consensus upon landfall. It was estimated that over three million lives were saved by the more accurate warnings.

On May tenth, 2059, Peter and Aaron were wed. Their two week honeymoon cruise was a wedding gift from the NOAA. They were sure to complete it before hurricane season started.

Also in May of 2059, Peter finally cracked the code, as it were. In the 2059 hurricane season, the landfalls based on the calculations associated with his visions were confirmed in every case. While the historical models were still reported, Peter's was the primary one used for watches and warnings. Thousands more lives were saved.

In December of 2060, President Pelson nominated Murray Koch as his Secretary of Commerce. The National Weather Service falls under the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. Secretary Koch named three deputy secretaries, one of which was Peter Noonan. As of January 20, 2061, Peter had oversight responsibility for the NOAA. In April 2061, when his father became President, none of the cabinet members were replaced. Shortly thereafter, when Melvin Thompson became President, the same decision was made. Peter spent the next eight years as a Deputy Secretary of Commerce, responsible for the National Weather Service and NOAA under Murray Koch and Melvin Thompson. The next three Secretaries of Commerce kept Peter on as their Deputy Secretary. Peter spent twenty-eight years as a Deputy Secretary of Commerce. He first took the office at twenty-eight years old. He spent half his life in that one position, serving six different Presidents. He retired early and paid all of his attention to family; namely his three grandchildren.

Peter and Aaron adopted the first of their two sons in February of 2061. Stuart Turnbull was already eleven years old and had been in their care for one year at the time of his adoption. After an intensive search, two months later, Stuart's twin brother, Samuel, was located and placed into Peter and Aaron's care. His adoption was all but academic. Samuel legally became Stuart's brother once again in June.

Obviously, neither boy followed Pete-Dad in having unusual abilities, although they were both highly intelligent.

The End