Hurricane Debate

The 2,000-plus scientists at this week’s annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society had plenty to talk about, from last year’s droughts to flash floods and wildfires. But the biggest question at the meeting in Atlanta — why last hurricane season was the worst since recordkeeping began 151 years ago — was almost too hot to handle.

William Gray, America’s most prominent hurricane scientist and an ardent foe of the belief that global warming has worsened hurricanes, was supposed to join a panel discussing the storms. So was Greg Holland of the National Center on Atmospheric Research — who disagrees with Dr. Gray. But the organizers withdrew the invitations after deciding the dispute had grown so nasty it was too risky to put the two in the same room.

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