Botched tsunami warning test sparks weather war of words

A botched tsunami warning test Tuesday sparked a weather war of words between the National Weather Service and private firm AccuWeather.

And, just to allay any fears, there never was a tsunami threat.

The weather service said its National Tsunami Warning Center sent out a monthly tsunami warning test across much of the nation Tuesday morning. Soon after, some mobile app users ended up with an alert that looked like the real thing.

“The National Tsunami Warning Center did NOT issue a Tsunami Warning, Watch, or Advisory for any part of the United States or Canada this morning,” the center tweeted.

The weather service, which launched an investigation into the incident, issued a statement saying it conducted a routine test around 8:30 a.m. ET. It blamed an unnamed company for the ensuing gaffe. 

“The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in widespread reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean,” the weather service said.

More: Hawaii emergency worker who sent false alert: ‘I’m really not to blame in this’

More: Hawaii emergency chief resigns, officer fired over false missile alert

AccuWeather picked up the would-be tsunami alert and pushed it out in numerous cities without mention of a test. The alerts were titled “Severe Weather Alert” and said “Tsunami Warning in effect for (name of city) until 9:28 AM EST. Source: National Weather Service.”

AccuWeather blamed the weather service for the error. AccuWeather acknowledged that the word “TEST” was in the header of the weather service warning, but said the weather service miscoded the test as a real warning. 

“AccuWeather was correct in reading the mistaken NWS codes embedded in the warning,” AccuWeather said in a statement. “The responsibility is on the NWS to properly and consistently code the messages, for only they know if the message is correct or not.”

AccuWeather says the weather service warning thus appeared on other sources such as The Weather Channel — and even some pages of the weather service’s own website — as a real warning.

The statement went on to chastise the weather service for similar errors in the past, noting that AccuWeather leadership previously advised the weather service — in writing — that it should clean up its act.

The kerfuffle between the weather service and AccuWeather about Tuesday’s erroneous tsunami warning has another twist: Barry Myers, the chief executive of AccuWeather, has been chosen by President Trump to be the next chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the weather service. 

Although a senate committee has voted in favor of Myers’ nomination to lead NOAA, a full senate vote to approve Myers has not yet occurred.

The tsunami mess comes less than a month after a Hawaii emergency management worker sent a false alert of an incoming missile. The alert was sent to phones across the state and caused widespread panic as residents and tourists ran for cover and called loved ones thinking death might be imminent.

The worker who sent the alert was fired and the head of the state’s emergency management agency later resigned.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY

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Amtrak train breaks apart at 125 mph

A high-speed Amtrak train bound for Penn Station broke apart as it was cruising through Maryland on Tuesday, sources told The Post.

The 2150 Acela was traveling from Washington D.C. to the Big Apple when the incident happened at about 6:30 a.m. The train was traveling at about 125 mph, according to the source.

“Someone could have been walking through the train when that happened and fell to their death,” said the source.

Amtrak officials confirmed the incident and said there were 52 passengers aboard at the time.

A photo shows the connector between two coupled trains broken and separated. Only the air hoses remained connected between the two cars, which both had passengers in them, said the source.

“There was a lot of sparking and smoking at the head of the train and a lot of bouncing around,” the source said.

A rescue train pulled up next to the crippled Acela and took the passengers to Philadelphia, where they then got other trains to continue on to New York City.

There were no injuries, said Amtrak officials, who added that they are investigating the incident.

“We are currently investigating the cause of the car separation, inspecting every Acela trainset, and taking any necessary actions to prevent a reoccurrence,” said Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams.

The incident happened just two days after an Amtrak train traveling through South Carolina slammed into the back of a freight train, killing two workers. And last week, an Amtrak train carrying several members of Congress slammed into a garbage truck in Virginia.

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