Roker apologizes for '1 term' dig at de Blasio, but stands by snowstorm criticism

Weatherman Al Roker is ratcheting down his criticism of New York City's Bill de Blasio -- but only slightly -- after tearing into the mayor on Twitter over the city’s decision to keep schools open during Thursday’s winter storm.

Roker had blasted the mayor for not closing schools when the city was expecting to receive nearly a foot of snow. As a final dig, he gave his own "forecast" for de Blasio: he'd be a one-term mayor.

Speaking Friday on NBC's "Today," he said he regrets the latter tweet. "I apologize for that," he said.

But he said he stands by the rest.

Here's how it went down on Twitter.

Roker, who’s currently in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in Sochi, added this dig to his smackdown of de Blasio.

But de Blasio, who’s already faced criticism for his administration’s response to weather emergencies just six weeks into his tenure at NYC’s helm, said his decision was based on what he said was the National Weather Service's prediction of only three inches by the start of school, DNAInfo.com reported. Instead, nearly seven inches had fallen by 9 a.m., when visibility was less than a mile.

That led to a messy commute as school buses slipped and slid around snow-covered streets, the website reported.

De Blasio, however, suggested that Roker stick to covering the weather and not giving his opinions about municipal management, the New York Post reported.

“I respect Al Roker a lot, watched him on TV for many years,” de Blasio said at an afternoon press conference. “It’s a different thing to run a city than give the weather on TV.”

The mayor pointedly added, “It’s weather, none of us controls this.”

Roker, however, was undeterred and defended the NWS.

The weatherman finished his rant with this pointed remark: