Tuesday’s speech by Dr. Jacobs, which had been scheduled before the hurricane, represented his first comments on the statement and the controversy. It almost didn’t happen.

According to three people familiar with the discussion, Dr. Jacobs met Monday afternoon with several Commerce Department officials, several of whom put pressure on him to cancel his speech. Dr. Jacobs, however, was adamant about appearing, the three people said.

He began by praising Mr. Trump, calling him “genuinely interested in improving weather forecasts.” Dr. Jacobs also echoed the president’s position that Dorian initially threatened Alabama. “At one point, Alabama was in the mix, as was the rest of the Southeast.”

Without retracting the statement his office issued on Friday, Dr. Jacobs also said he still had faith in the Birmingham office.

“The purpose of the NOAA statement was to clarify the technical aspects of the potential impacts of Dorian,” Dr. Jacobs said. “What it did not say, however, is that we understand and fully support the good intent of the Birmingham weather forecast office, which was to calm fears in support of public safety.”

“I am proud of the outstanding work performed by all the weather forecasting offices, including Birmingham, during the span of this storm,” Dr. Jacobs continued. “No one’s job is under threat — not mine, not yours. The weather service team has my full support and the support of the department.”

In the ballroom where meteorologists had gathered for their conference, the unsigned NOAA statement was all anyone seemed to be talking about. After Dr. Jacobs’s remarks, many of the forecasters mingling in the hallways outside settled on a common descriptor: diplomatic.