The weather is big business -- and that's tough for government forecasters - The Washington Post

Karen St. Germain’s office in Silver Spring, Md., is a weather geek’s dream, with large windows providing expansive views to the west, across the northern suburbs of Washington. It’s a fitting angle — ideal for watching incoming storms — for someone who occupies one of the top positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at a time when the agency is caught between growing demand for timely and accurate weather information, and competition from a host of new companies threatening to beat government agencies at their own game. Where two powerful storms will make Thanksgiving travel difficult or impossible The outcome of that competition could affect the public’s access to the best available weather and climate data in the years ahead. Fueled in part by climate change, extreme weather is an increasing liability to the economy, with 10 weather and climate disasters costing more than $1 billion each so far this year, according to NOAA. During the past two years alone, We

Karen St. Germain’s office in Silver Spring, Md., is a weather geek’s dream, with large windows providing expansive views to the west, across the northern suburbs of Washington. It’s a fitting angle — ideal for watching incoming storms — for someone who occupies one of the top positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at a time when the agency is caught between growing demand for timely and accurate weather information, and competition from a host of new companies threatening to beat government agencies at their own game. Where two powerful storms will make Thanksgiving