Meteorologists complain hurricane research budget is too small

[Judi Lynn]

Meteorologists complain hurricane research budget is too small

By JOHN PAIN
Associated Press
Posted September 29 2005, 2:27 PM EDT

MIAMI -- Hurricanes are barreling across the Atlantic Ocean with greater frequency, a trend expected to continue for at least the next decade. But some meteorologists worry that federal spending on storm research is not keeping up.

The federal Hurricane Research Division has a staff of about 30 scientists, down from about 50 in the 1980s. It has an annual budget of $5.1 million, a nearly 60 percent increase since 1998. But some researchers say they need more money -- perhaps a budget of $10 million -- to hire more staff and modernize equipment.

``We aren't talking about a whole lot of money,'' said Hugh Willoughby, a researcher at the division from 1975 to 1996 and its director from 1996 to 2002.

The division's work helps meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center forecast a storm's track and intensity. Residents and local officials in hurricane-prone areas rely on these forecasts to make preparations that could minimize destruction and save lives.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-929hurricanereserch,0,3795878.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla

[bleedingheart]

1. the money will be spent on Intelligent Weather Prediction

Pat Robertson will eviserate a dove on TV and predict the weather by reading its entrails....what more could we want?

[Coastie for Truth]

2. Might implicate global warming

and human activities (hydrocarbon fuels) as a cause of global warming.

I love Repuke logic - we solve our energy problem by giving tax breaks for more drilling --- and we don't raise CAFE.

Then we send American kids on a Bush "American Blood for Oil War"

Then we get a rash of Cat 5 hurricanes.

Duh.

[olddad56]

3. I thought the Hurricanes were because God was mad at Ellen Degeneres?

Isn't that what Rev. Pat said?

When is Pat Robertson's "Jim Baker type secret" going to be exposed. I say it is getting close. We are only as sick as our secrets, and Pat is getting sicker all of the time. It is going to be great when he is outed for having sex with the family dog or something of that nature.