US hurricane center chief going back to The Weather Channel

MIAMI (AP) - The director of the National Hurricane Center is going back to work at The Weather Channel.

Rick Knabb has been director of the center in Miami since June 2012. Knabb will participate in the National Hurricane Conference next month in New Orleans and the federal government’s annual Hurricane Awareness Tour before leaving the center May 12.

Knabb left a previous stint as The Weather Channel’s tropical weather expert to become chief of the U.S. government’s hurricane forecasting hub. In a statement Tuesday, Knabb said his new job as an on-air hurricane expert would allow him to focus on his “greatest passion,” communicating about safety during hurricanes and other disasters.

Deputy Director Ed Rappaport will serve as the center’s acting director for the six-month Atlantic hurricane season that begins June 1.