Opinion: Hiding weather data harms more than hurricane forecasts

Somewhat less obvious is the impact a hurricane-information gap could have on home insurance. If those houses and stores aren’t boarded up in time, then they suffer more damage. — Pixabay

The Butterfly Effect is the chaos-theory idea that the flapping of an insect’s tiny wings can influence massive weather events far removed from it in distance and time. It may overstate the importance of butterflies, but it is a reminder of how small actions can have larger, unforeseen consequences.

An even clearer example is the Trump administration’s recent decision to stop sharing military satellite data with weather forecasters just ahead of what will be a busy hurricane season. The effects will reverberate far beyond weather forecasting, threatening lives and livelihoods and even accelerating the nation’s growing home-insurance crisis.