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Sharpiegate: Trump Altered Official Hurricane Map with Sharpie, Pressured NOAA Scientists

Trump's September 1 tweet falsely included Alabama in Hurricane Dorian's path. The National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, issued a correction saying Alabama was not at risk. Trump then displayed an Oval Office map showing the altered cone reaching into Alabama. Multiple officials at NOAA described feeling pressured not to contradict the president. The Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reportedly threatened firings if NOAA scientists publicly contradicted Trump's Alabama claim. An unsigned statement supporting Trump's position was issued by NOAA over scientists' objections. A formal Inspector General investigation was opened.

Record summary

Grade

Grade 2 of 5: Major Abuse of Power

Executive actions that exceed constitutional authority, circumvent statutory constraints, or weaponize government institutions for political ends. Scale and definitions

Status
Concluded
Incident date
Record updated
Location
Washington, D.C. / Alabama
Category
Rule of Law
Legal posture
Reported
War-crime classification
Enabling conduct
Verification
Independently verified
ICC relevance
No
Sources
4 cited
Stable ID
trump-sharpiegate-alabama-hurricane-dorian
Victims
Alabama residents misinformed about hurricane risk; NOAA scientists whose work was politically overridden; public reliance on accurate emergency weather information
Alleged responsible parties
  • Donald Trump, President; displayed altered hurricane map; pressured NOAA to support false claim— White House
  • Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary; reportedly threatened to fire NOAA leadership if they contradicted Trump— Department of Commerce

Key points

  • Trump tweeted on September 1, 2019, that Alabama 'will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated' by Hurricane Dorian — a claim that was false; the National Weather Service in Birmingham immediately issued a correction
  • On September 4, Trump displayed in the Oval Office a NOAA forecast map showing the projected storm cone for Dorian; the map had been altered with what appeared to be a black Sharpie to extend the projected cone over Alabama
  • Altering an official government weather map is potentially illegal under 18 U.S.C. § 2074, which makes it a federal crime to issue a false weather report; the administration declined to acknowledge who altered the map
  • Multiple NOAA officials described feeling pressure not to publicly contradict the president on the Alabama claim; the NWS director Neil Jacobs reportedly did not want to issue a statement backing Trump
  • An unsigned NOAA statement was issued on September 6 backing Trump's Alabama claim and criticizing the Birmingham office for its correction; the statement contradicted official NOAA forecasts and was not attributed to any official
  • A NOAA IG investigation was opened; a subsequent report found that the unsigned statement 'compromised NOAA's integrity' and that political pressure from the Commerce Department had been applied to NOAA leadership

Overview

A president tweeted incorrect hurricane information. When meteorologists corrected the record — a correction that protected people in Alabama from taking unnecessary emergency action — the president had an official government weather map altered to match his tweet.

Then his Commerce Secretary threatened to fire NOAA scientists who wouldn't say the altered map was real.

What the Law Says

18 U.S.C. § 2074 makes it a federal crime to knowingly issue a false weather report. The altered map was not issued officially — it was displayed by the president personally. No prosecution was pursued. The administration never acknowledged who held the Sharpie.

Why It Matters

Hurricane forecasts are public safety information. People make decisions based on them — whether to evacuate, whether to stock supplies, whether to shelter in place. A president who alters an official forecast map rather than acknowledge a tweet was wrong is corrupting the information infrastructure that emergency management depends on.

The NOAA scientists who corrected the record were doing their jobs. They were protecting Alabama residents from acting on false information. They were then pressured by political appointees to contradict their own correction to protect the president's ego.

The Pattern

Sharpiegate was not unique in its structure — it was the weather version of a pattern. Scientific agencies being pressured to modify findings, deny evidence, or validate presidential claims that didn't match the data. The EPA, NOAA, CDC, FDA — across multiple first-term and second-term episodes, the pattern was the same: the data was subordinate to the message.

Update log

  1. Updated with IG report findings.

Sequence of events

  1. Trump tweets Alabama is in Dorian's path

    Trump tweets that Alabama will be hit harder than anticipated by Hurricane Dorian. This is false — Alabama is outside Dorian's projected track. The National Weather Service in Birmingham issues a correction within hours.

  2. Trump displays altered map in Oval Office

    In an Oval Office briefing, Trump shows a NOAA forecast map of Hurricane Dorian that has been altered with what appears to be a black Sharpie to extend the projected storm cone over Alabama. He insists his original statement was correct.

  3. NOAA issues unsigned statement backing Trump

    NOAA releases an unsigned statement criticizing the Birmingham NWS office for its correction and backing Trump's claim that Alabama was at risk. Senior NOAA officials later describe the statement as politically coerced.

  4. IG report confirms political pressure

    The NOAA Inspector General releases a report finding that Commerce Department pressure was applied to NOAA to support Trump's Alabama claim and that the unsigned statement had 'compromised NOAA's integrity.'

Sources

  1. Trump Showed a Doctored Hurricane Map — Who Did It? — The New York Times
  2. Commerce Secretary threatened NOAA firings after agency contradicted Trump — The Washington Post
  3. Trump shows Sharpie-altered hurricane map, disputes Alabama claim — The Associated Press
  4. NOAA Inspector General Report on Sharpiegate — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

How this record was published

Manually curated This entry was added directly and does not carry an automated audit trail.

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