U.S. Military Treats Weather Forecasts Like Secrets

[G-khan]

Reuters
Tuesday, March 25, 2003; 6:55 PM



By Philip Barbara

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While a severe sandstorm that hampered U.S.-led troops in Iraq was a big media topic on Tuesday, the U.S. military agency that could intelligently talk about the weather was tight-lipped: its forecasts are secret.

The Operational Weather Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina is responsible for getting accurate weather outlooks to U.S.-led forces throughout Iraq.

In war, simply knowing which way the wind will blow helps make it possible to use U.S. high-tech weaponry to fullest advantage.

"I'll tell you anything about how we do business, but I won't tell you the forecast for the next few days. It's valuable military intelligence," said Lt. Col. Tom Frooninckx, commander of the squadron.

Using data from satellites, radar, weather balloons and direct observation from weather teams in Iraq, the weather squadron develops forecasts with the help of computers and sends them halfway around the world electronically, with repeated updates.

"We don't want the adversary to know what we know. We also don't want them to know what they don't know," he said.

These forecasts can cover a large area, such as southern Iraq, or pinpoint locations, such as over airfields.

The military may be keeping its forecasts under wraps, but radio and television networks have been providing regular forecasts for Iraq, many obtaining them from international weather services like AccuWeather in Pennsylvania.

As for Tuesday's severe sandstorm buffeting U.S.-led operations, commander Frooninckx said the squadron saw it coming five days ago.

"This storm system is one of the largest and most severe, if not the largest I've ever seen in Iraq, and I've been tracking the weather there for 18 years," he said. Some of Tuesday's sand-laden winds reached 60 mph.

The U.S. military has been improving its weather forecasting capabilities in Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War, using them for operations such as the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq, he said.

But while most people can't do anything about the weather, the U.S. military does more than just wait it out. Plans are made for munitions unaffected by sandstorms, such as those targeted with global positioning systems.

Meanwhile, the weather in Iraq should clear up toward the end of the week, AccuWeather said on Tuesday. It predicted the storm will last until early Wednesday local time in Iraq but then begin letting up, with winds slowing to between 20 mph to 40 mph by midday (4 a.m. EST), down from 60 mph in the southern half of Iraq on Tuesday.

AccuWeather developed its outlook with data obtained from weather stations in surrounding countries, since Iraq no longer shares weather details with other nations, said forecaster Jim Andrews.