Can you trust weather forecasts during a government shutdown?
The weather never stops, and neither do forecasts, even during a government shutdown.
But could they be less reliable?
Last week, private forecasting company AccuWeather issued an apology to employees of the National Weather Service for a story that had been posted on the company's website earlier that day. The first posting of the story seemed to suggest weather data could not be trusted during the government shutdown.
An editor's note at the top of the revised story said that despite the shutdown, government weather data continues to flow seamlessly to private weather forecasting companies such as AccuWeather.
"It was never our intent to imply any disrespect for our hardworking meteorological colleagues in the government," said Dr. Joel Myers, founder and CEO of AccuWeather, in an interview with USA TODAY.
AccuWeather said it uses data from the weather service's computer models, along with data from more than 100 foreign weather services, to help produce its weather forecasts. The company also continues to collaborate with the weather service on topics such as improving weather models and emergency management during severe weather, said Myers.
(AccuWeather provides the weather forecasts for USA TODAY, both in print and online.)
Bill Hopkins, executive vice president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said employees continue to push out reliable weather information while working for free.
"We’re still putting out valid forecasts and valid warnings," said Hopkins. "I think the American people should still feel safe."
When asked whether the shutdown was affecting their forecasting, meteorologist James Lee at the weather service's Baltimore/Washington forecast office in Sterling, Virginia, said flatly, "It's not."
Bill Syrett, an assistant professor of meteorology and atmospheric sciences at Penn State University, said there are no signs weather data from government sources has degraded since the shutdown.
"I haven’t seen evidence of risk to the public because of the shutdown," said Syrett.
However, the longer the shutdown lingers, the greater the potential impact on weather forecasting could be. John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas state climatologist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, said opportunities for forecasts to improve become more difficult during the shutdown.
"The resources that exist are focused on continuing to produce forecasts of the same quality as before, but we’re losing the ability to improve," he said.
The impact on the meteorological community takes multiple forms. Syrett said he is unable to access archival weather and climate data because websites aren't accessible. Meanwhile, an upgrade to the National Weather Service's global forecast systems model has been pushed back to February, and may go longer if the shutdown progresses, said Hopkins.
Hopkins notes the weather service can't train spotters – people who provide updates of severe weather to the government – during the height of the tornado season, which starts in March.
Also, the National Hurricane Center is unable to perform any outreach ahead of this year's hurricane season, which begins in June.
"It’s important that we have these face-to-face interactions with our emergency management community so they’re aware of what and how to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season and tornado season," said Hopkins.
More: Government shutdown at one month: Where things stand for the average American
More: Businesses offer furlough freebies, shutdown specials and assistance to federal workers
Contributing: Ryan W. Miller
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can you trust weather forecasts during a government shutdown?
