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On Tuesday, Badlands National Park posted facts regarding climate change on its Twitter account, then deleted them. The tweets were retweeted thousands of times before being deleted, and earned approval as defiance of the Trump administration. USA TODAY

This composite color full-disk visible image is from 1:07 p.m. ET on Jan. 15, 2017, and was created using several of the 16 spectral channels available on the GOES-16 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument. The image shows North and South America and the surrounding oceans. GOES-16 observes Earth from an equatorial view approximately 22,300 miles high, creating full disk images like these, extending from the coast of West Africa, to Guam, and everything in between.(Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

SEATTLE The nation's top group of weather and climate professionals sounded the alarm Wednesday about scientific freedom of expression, aftertheWhite House issued a gag order on some federal employees' social media posts.

"The ability of scientists to present their findings to the scientific community, policy makers, the media, and the public without censorship, intimidationor political interference is imperative," the American Meteorological Society said at its annual meeting.

"These principles matter most and at the same time are most vulnerable to violation precisely when science has its greatest bearing on society," the statement added, noting how weather and climate greatly impact a wide range ofissues, such as public health and safety, environmental protectionand national security.

USA TODAY

EPA 'pause' on public communications fuels wider alarm about openness

The declaration came as controversy and uncertainty swirlover how federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Interior will communicate with the public about climate change and other environmental issues under Trump, who has often called climate change a hoax.

Adirective this week ordered employees at the EPA to halt all external communications and posts on social media. AndtheInterior Departmenttemporarily shut down its Twitter account after aNational Park Serviceemployee retweeted side-by-side photos of the crowds that gathered in 2009 on the National Mall forPresident Obamas first inaugural and the much smaller number whocame to witness Trumps swearing-in.

USA TODAY

Government Twitter accounts have slowed since Trump took office

On Tuesday, the Park Service'sBadlands National Parkposted several tweets that made a forceful case about the hazards of climate change, but the posts were deleted by the end of the day.

Scott Pruitt,Trumps choice to run the EPA,said in last week's Senate confirmation hearings that he believes climate change is real.However, Pruitt would not say that human activityis the primary cause of climate change, as the majority of scientists conclude.

USA TODAY

EPA nominee Pruitt contradicts Trump claim that climate change is a hoax

While the future of the EPA freeze on communications remains unclear, those atthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal government's top agency that deals with climate and weather issues, may have a better outlook.

That agency is a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where Trump has tapped Wilbur Ross for its new head. At his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Ross saidhe has no intention of instructing his employees to fudge or hide information on the science behind rising global temperatures.

"I support the dissemination of valid information to the public, Ross told Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.No valid information should be concealed," he said."I have great respect for the scientific quality of NOAA (and) I think the communication of factual information and data is very, very important.

Beyond researching and keeping tabs on the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, NOAA also oversees the crucial National Weather Service. The American Meteorological Society is comprised ofmore than 13,000 members, including researchers, scientists, broadcasters, educatorsand other professionals.

Contributing: Ledyard King, USA TODAY

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Censorship, political meddling has no place in science, weather group says - USA TODAY