Written question asked by Lord Naseby (Conservative) on Tuesday, 12 September 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 26 September 2017. It was answered by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 September 2017 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Hurricanes and Tornadoes: Caribbean

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether use was made of the UK's remote sensing and satellite technology to predict the impact of the storm system of Hurricane Irma; and if so, by whom.

Answer: The Met Office is the UK National Met Service and monitors weather around the world, including hurricanes in the Caribbean such as Irma. For this purpose the Met Office uses a wide range of observations, including satellite and remote sensing technologies which form a crucial input to its weather modeling capability. Model predictions on the track of hurricanes together with information on their intensity and structure are used by the Met Office in its briefings to Her Majesty’s Government but also shared with the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Hurricane Centre.

Secondary information