Legislation now before Congress would prevent the National Weather Service from providing information that the private sector is supplying, or could supply, to the public. That would seriously damage the quality of the nation鈥檚 weather forecasting, says an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on improving local weather prediction.
鈥淚t would cripple the weather service and would be a great disservice to the public,鈥� Cliff Mass, a 91探花atmospheric sciences professor, said of a bill introduced in April by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.
鈥淚t would very seriously limit what the weather service does,鈥� Mass said. 鈥淭he weather service would be out of the business of supplying day-to-day local forecasts and weather information, except for severe weather.鈥�
The bill, referred to as the National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005, in general would prevent the weather service from providing a product or service, other than severe-weather forecasts and warnings, that could be provided by the private sector. Exceptions include situations in which the federal government is obliged by treaty to provide information, such as aviation forecasts, or if the secretary of commerce determines the private sector is unwilling or unable to provide it.
The measure likely would prevent the weather service from issuing local daily and long-term forecasts for cities and towns across the country, currently one of its most-recognized functions, Mass said.
Those forecasts would be replaced by products from private companies that often do not match the quality of the weather service information.
鈥淚n addition, the private sector doesn鈥檛 have to forecast for every place in the United States,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he weather service does.鈥�
Private sector meteorologists tend to work from a central location and often lack the knowledge of specific cities and towns that would allow them to tailor accurate and detailed local forecasts for all the places where the National Weather Service maintains offices.
So while a private meteorologist working in Pennsylvania can look at radar and satellite data to see weather systems approaching a city such as Seattle, it is unlikely that person has a clear understanding of how the region鈥檚 mountain ranges, for instance, will affect local temperature or wind and rainfall patterns.
In a statement on its Web site, Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather defends Santorum鈥檚 bill as one 鈥渢hat would guarantee unfettered public access鈥� to all data, analysis, forecasts and warnings received, collected, created or prepared by the weather service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mass said the private sector has a very important role to play, from providing local TV and radio weather forecasts to supplying generalized weather data on cable TV and tailored forecasts for specific industries. But he added that weather service forecasters cannot maintain their skills by just predicting relatively rare severe weather events.
鈥淥nly by daily forecasting can their skills be maintained,鈥� he said.
He said private sector efforts to limit the information the weather service can provide to the public is the same as if Federal Express or United Parcel Service demanded that the U.S. Postal Service be barred from delivering mail.
鈥淛ust as in parcel delivery, I think there鈥檚 plenty of work for everyone,鈥� he said.
Mass noted that the weather service and NOAA, with their extensive system of satellites and computers, collect and provide the basic information the private companies must have to create their weather products.
The weather service also conducts sophisticated computer modeling the private companies rely on and cannot conduct for themselves.
鈥淚n terms of data, the greatest volume is from satellites. The federal government also collects a vast array of other observations on which the entire weather prediction enterprise is based,鈥� Mass said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e paying for all of them, and if this legislation is passed we鈥檇 have to pay for them again through the private sector.鈥�