Extreme weather forecasts are in demand -

Businesses and governments could soon be tuning in to forecasts of extreme weather events, if climatologists calling for the creation of a US national climate service get their way.
"Climate forecasts are not used to their full potential," say Edward Miles and colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle. They point out that despite major advances in climate forecasting over the past 20 years, hurricane Katrina was still allowed to cause more than 1200 fatalities and more than $100 billion in damage last year (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0609090103).
The researchers propose that a climate service, administered by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, could monitor long-term weather trends and create routine global climate predictions for individuals, businesses and governments. Such a service could be in place within five years, they say.
Climatologist F. Sherwood Rowland at the University of California, Irvine, welcomes the idea. "As climate change becomes more evident, the need and demand for climate predictions will grow rapidly," he says.
From issue 2580 of New Scientist magazine, 30 November 2006, page