Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy

The Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy, also referred to as Sharpiegate, arose from a comment made by then-U.S. President Donald Trump on September 1, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian approached the U.S. mainland. Mentioning states that would likely be hit by the storm, he incorrectly included Alabama, which by then was known to not be threatened by the storm. After many Alabamians called the local weather bureau to ask about it, the bureau issued a reassurance that their state was not expected to be hit.

Over the following week, Trump repeatedly insisted his comment had been correct. On September 4, he showed reporters a weather map which had been altered with a black Sharpie marker to falsely show the hurricane on track to hit Alabama. He also reportedly ordered his aides to obtain an official retraction of the weather bureau's comment that the storm was not headed for Alabama. On September 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an unsigned statement in support of Trump's initial claim, saying that National Hurricane Center (NHC) models "demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama."

Two agencies investigated allegations that the Trump administration exerted political influence over NOAA. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report, released on June 15, found that Neil Jacobs, the acting NOAA administrator, and Julie Kay Roberts, the former NOAA deputy chief of staff and communications director, twice violated codes of the agency's scientific integrity policy with their involvement in the NOAA statement. On July 9, the inspector general of the United States Department of Commerce issued a report confirming that Commerce officials had responded to orders from the White House which resulted in the statement issued by NOAA. In January 2022, the scientific integrity task force of the Biden administration's National Science and Technology Council published a report generally on protecting scientific integrity.

The alteration of official government weather forecasts is illegal under 18 U.S. Code 2074, and is punishable by fine or imprisonment or a combination of both.