It is my understanding that the British Meteorological Office is a
government agency which unlike the US also sells its services and products
to the private sector for a price. The US government provides weather and
warning information which anyone can use without charge.
Radio, TV, commercial and private weather services in the US get products
from the NOAA National Weather Service which are then processed and packaged
for their clientele. NOAA works closely with the private sector and
includes a policy to not compete with the private sector. However, to do
its statutory job of warning and prediction, the NOAA NWS packages many of
its products which its needs to fulfill its responsibilities which also can
be used directly by the private sector without additional processing or
manipulation. This is particularly true for alerts and warnings where time
is of the essence for the protection of life and property. It's also a
benchmark which all can used to evaluate products and services. That's why
weather services in the US are the best in the world.
Furthermore, the US Government has a very expensive system and network of
Doppler Radars, Satellites, Ocean Buoys and other observation platforms and
devices which are not practical for the private sector to own and operate.
New Zealand tried to privatize its entire weather service and found the US
model to be the most practical.
Regards, Stan Doore
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Humphreys" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 4:36 PM
Subject: [USMA:38681] RE: Reaction to the Telegraph
Sorry, I thought we were talking about mass-media, etc.
Of course I believe you that the MoD etc might want that information
From: "Martin Vlietstra" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"'U.S. Metric Association'"
<[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [USMA:38679] RE: Reaction to the Telegraph
Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 19:15:56 +0100
Q: Who does the met office report the weather to?
A: To the Ministry of Defence and anybody else who is prepared to pay for
the service.
If you don't believe me, check up on the Met Office website and find out
who
runs the Met Office, who appoints its officers etc.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of Stephen Humphreys
Sent: 14 May 2007 11:43
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:38679] RE: Reaction to the Telegraph
... snip
Question: Who does the met office report the weather to?
Answer: Those who report the weather to us.
I'm not aware of the met office ever broadcasting directly to the public.
And wind speed is always converted to mph whenever I have seen it on TV or
heard it on the radio.
I guess it's possible that some papers quote knots, or that the shipping
forecast uses knots but I've never seen/heard that myself.
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