The twitter gloves are coming off between Al Roker and the mayor.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to sit down with the “Today” show weatherman Monday, the first time since the two engaged in a war of words over the decision to open schools during a nor’easter on Feb. 13.
Roker, like many city parents, complained about the decision to keep schools open that Thursday, when 9.5 of inches of snow fell, making travel a nightmare.
The weatherman, who was in Sochi for the Olympics during the storm and has a daughter that goes to public school, criticized the mayor’s reasoning that forecasts predicted a less severe storm. Not only did Roker tweet a copy of the National Weather Service’s forecast that he called “on the money,” he made his own prediction for de Blasio.
“Long range DiBlasio [sic] forecast: 1 term,” he tweeted.
Roker later apologized for that specific shot at the mayor and de Blasio seemed to be in good spirits for his visit to the new Rockefeller Center set of the show Monday
“Long-term forecast: sunny,” de Blasio tweeted at Roker and “Today” Sunday.
Initially, De Blasio defended himself from Roker’s online criticism, saying he respected him as a weatherman but maintained that keeping schools open was the right call.
“It’s a different thing to run a city than to give the weather on TV,” the mayor said at a news conference on Feb. 13.
Roker didn’t buy the mayor’s explanation and went to Twitter again.
“Mr. Mayor, I could never run NYC, but I know when it’s time to keep kids home from school,” he tweeted.
