Gov. Landry moves state climatologist from LSU to his emergency preparedness office

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry holds a press conference on July 1, 2024, at the Denka neoprene plant in LaPlace, La., to speak against a new EPA rule he says is unfair to the company. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

Louisiana’s chief weather expert will now report directly to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, rather than serve primarily at LSU, Gov. Jeff Landry announced at a news conference Wednesday.

The Office of State Climatology will still be housed at the LSU Ag Center, but the climatologist will be a state employee who reports to the governor. Interim state climatologist Jay Grymes, a former WAFB-TV meteorologist who previously served as state climatologist from 1991-2003, will permanently fill the role, Landry announced. While Grymes will now report to the governor, he will still have research and educational duties at LSU.

The idea to move the position to GOHSEP first came up during his post-election transition, Landry said, and doing so will help ease communications during hurricanes and other climate crises.

“We want to make sure that our parishes, our industries, and our citizens are getting the proper information directly from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security as it relates to weather events,” Landry said.

In an interview after the press conference, Matt Lee, LSU’s vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture, said the partnership will be beneficial for the agricultural community. Lee said during last year’s drought that impacted farming, communication with farmers was not at the level it needed to be.

Former climatologist Barry Keim was removed from the position earlier this year by LSU officials after nearly two decades in the position. The removal was believed by many to be because of a disagreement between Keim and farming interests during the drought, The Advocate | The Times Picayune reported.

The state climatologist is responsible for climate monitoring, data collection and archiving, public outreach and interfacing with officials who make weather-related decisions.

When Grymes was announced as interim climatologist, LSU said the position would include coordinating with farmers and ranchers and doing outreach and education in all 64 parishes.

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