STORY: Concerns regarding the privatization of weather data

Houston weather is typically hot and humid, with few days under 32 degrees Fahrenheit. During of the months from June to November, Houston is subject to "Hurricane Season." While the Texas coastline has always been subjected to hurricanes, the past few years has seen some of the worst storms to ever hit the Houston area: Tropical Storm Allison (2001), Hurricane Rita (2005), Hurricane Ike (2008) and Hurricane Harvey (2017).

Whenever governments started collecting meteorological data, they created a system that would allow all nations around the world would share meteorological data collected. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a UN agency that allows ease of cooperation between nations and information about weather systems.

Originally, recording and transmitting weather was extremely costly and only international governments could afford the weather satellites. However, in response to a decrease in price for weather satellites and an increase in extreme weather unpredictably, many private companies are starting to get into the business of weather. In 2016, IBM bought The Weather Channel and rechristened it The Weather Company.

Some private companies utilize already existing data from governments and add more content and then sell that to consumer individuals. By giving you weather updates and adding storytelling elements, companies like Accuweather and The Weather Company reach over a billion people. Additions like this are beneficial to individuals who either pay for the storytelling aspects through ads or a subscription fee.

Right now, privatizing weather models only adds to the existing global exchange. If private weather models replace the current standard of international cooperation, it starts to affect the consumer individual. Private companies do not have to agree to share weather data collected, which allows for individuals to have to pay multiple companies in order to receive the information that would have been available for free through the global exchange.

Neil Jacobs, acting administrator of NOAA said the administration encourages the privatization of weather models. This is on brand with the administration's preference for privatizing the governmental sector. The president has nominated Barry Myers, former CEO of Accuweather, to be NOAA's next administrator.