Warning Issued for Looming Data Gap From Fleet of Weather Satellites.

UNITED States. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration; METEOROLOGICAL satellites; UNITED States. Government Accountability Office; ARTIFICIAL satellite launching; WEATHER forecasting; METEOROLOGICAL instruments; METEOROLOGY; ECONOMICS; GOVERNMENT policy

The article discusses a February 2013 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the risk of a gap in weather forecasting data coverage by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). It is expected that the Suomi satellite will fail in 2016, 17 months before the launch of its replacement JPSS-1. Other topics include forecasting of extreme weather events, temporary weather sensors, and the costs of addressing the data gap.