A top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official reportedly sent an odd, agency-wide warning shortly after President Donald Trump tweeted that Alabama could be hit by Hurricane Dorian.

The September 1 directive told employees not to "provide any opinion" and to "only stick with the official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise," according to The Washington Post.

Staff reportedly interpreted the memo to be referring to Trump's tweet, according to one meteorologist.

The new development comes amid a days-long controversy over Trump's insistence that Hurricane Dorian was forecast to strike Alabama, and meteorologists' insistence that the state was not at risk.

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Staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received an odd, agency-wide warning from a top official just hours after President Donald Trump sparked widespread confusion by tweeting that Alabama could be hit by Hurricane Dorian, The Washington Post reported Saturday evening.

The official's September 1 directive told employees not to "provide any opinion" and to "only stick with the official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise from some national level social media posts which hit the news this afternoon," according to an email obtained by The Post.

The "national level social media posts" in question were widely understood within the NOAA to refer to Trump's tweet, one meteorologist told The Post.

But before the memo was sent out to NOAA staff, the National Weather Service's Birmingham office had already refuted Trump's tweet, clarifying that Alabama would "NOT see any impacts from the hurricane."

"This is the first time I've felt pressure from above to not say what truly is the forecast," the meteorologist told The Post.

The person continued: "It's hard for me to wrap my head around. One of the things we train on is to dispel inaccurate rumors and ultimately that is what was occurring — ultimately what the Alabama office did is provide a forecast with their tweet, that is what they get paid to do."

Some federal weather workers feel betrayed that the NOAA sided with Trump and undercut their own scientists

President Donald Trump holds a chart as he talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Washington. Associated Press/Evan Vucci

Read more: Federal weather workers are furious at the NOAA's 'utterly disgusting' statement defending Trump's claim Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama

The new development comes amid a days-long controversy over Trump's insistence that Hurricane Dorian was forecast to strike Alabama, and meteorologists' insistence that the state was not at risk.

Federal weather workers reacted with outrage on Friday after the NOAA disavowed the September 1 tweet from the NWS's Birmingham office, saying the office "spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with the probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time."

Some federal workers viewed this statement as a betrayal of the NOAA's own scientists.

"Never ever before has their management thrown them under the bus like this," Dan Sobien, president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization told the Daily Beast.

"These are the people risking their lives flying into hurricanes and putting out forecasts that save lives. Never before has their management undercut their scientifically sound reasoning and forecasts."

An NWS spokesperson told The Post that the September 1 directive to staff was sent "so they (and the entire agency) could maintain operational focus on Dorian and other severe weather hazards without distraction."

The Post also quoted an NOAA official familiar with the matter who said the memo had "no political motivation" behind it.