This time it was the annual conference of the National Weather Association meeting in Madison, WI last week. At the 11th hour conference organizers were advised that 80 employees of the National Weather Service did not secure authorization to attend the event from the Department of Commerce. Last year 131 NWS employees attended. Many of the technical sessions for this year's conference were scheduled to be presented by NWS employees. So the net result of this idiotic decision --- the conference revenue was immediately sliced by 20% and half the presenters were unable to attend.
Is there rationale for employees of the National Weather Service to attend the technical annual conference of the National Weather Association? Is Madison, Wisconsin a luxury resort destination? Is the federal government completely disconnected from reality? You decide.