State Climatologist Replaced

A tornado seems to have hit the State Climatologist's Office.

For more than a decade, UGA professor David Stooksbury has also served as Georgia's state climatologist. He and assistant Pam Knox have been the go-to guys for all things weather--drought, rainfall, El Nino, La Nina, tornadoes, climate change.

They kept massive amounts of data on their website, with links to NOAA sources and other valuable sites for everyone interested in weather, from folks planning to plant to folks planning a picnic.

Late last week, Gov. Nathan Deal replaced the Dynamic Weather Duo with men from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. On Sunday, Stooksbury said with a smile that he had learned more about what transpired from an article in the AJC than he did from the governor's office. His replacement, he said, "was a solid professional."

Tom Crawford, who writes a news page about Georgia politics, reports on the removal.