Hurricane center director says he's not resigning despite staff revolt

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The embattled director of the National Hurricane Center said Friday he has no plans to step down despite a petition from his staff calling for his ouster.

Center Director Bill Proenza told CNN he had contacted his superiors in Washington about "ways to move forward" but added, "I am not going to resign."

The petition said the center's "effective functioning" is at stake as the Atlantic hurricane season heads toward its peak.

"An unfortunate public debate is now occurring over the ability of the National Hurricane Center to meet its mission," said the petition, which was released Thursday.

"The undersigned staff ... has concluded that the center needs a new director, and with the heart of the hurricane season fast approaching, urges the Department of Commerce to make this happen as quickly as possible."

Twenty-three people -- about half of the center's staff -- signed the petition.

Proenza, 62, took over in January after the retirement of Max Mayfield.

He told CNN he did not think the staff should dictate the leadership through "signing petitions."

Proenza caused an uproar last month with comments about a key hurricane satellite called QuikSCAT. The satellite is five years beyond its life expectancy and operating on a backup transmitter. Proenza said if it were to fail, forecast tracks could be thrown off by as much as 16 percent.

He said Washington reprimanded him for the remarks: "They wanted me to be quiet about it."

But one of the center's longtime forecasters said Proenza's comments were misguided.

"QuikSCAT is another tool that we use to forecast," Lixion Avila said. "The forecast will not be degraded if we don't have the QuikSCAT."

The Commerce Department this week launched an unscheduled review of the hurricane center after word of the staff's dissatisfaction started to become public, The Associated Press reported.

Hurricane center staffers said they were not consulted before Proenza made the remarks and replacing the satellite would not be one of their priorities. They said their dissatisfaction stems not only from Proenza's comments but also from the environment at the center -- one of closed doors and the public airing of dirty laundry.

Staffers said they are worried the hurricane center's mission is being undermined and that public confidence in the center could erode -- meaning people might not take storm warnings or evacuation alerts seriously, for instance.

The statement was not sent to the Commerce Department but to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's public affairs office. The National Hurricane Center is under NOAA's authority. E-mail to a friend

CNN's John Zarrella contributed to this report.

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