How the Government Shutdown Stymied Research on Hurricane Melissa

The government shutdown did more damage than just cutting food assistance benefits and disrupting the nation's air network. The lack of funding and resources during the shutdown also kept research on the devastating Hurricane Melissa to a minimum. Why did this happen? Read on for the details.

How the Government Shutdown Impacted Research on Hurricane Melissa

Several of the most important personnel charged with tracking tropical weather events were working without pay as the record-breaking Hurricane Melissa came to life. Dozens of scientists and hurricane hunter pilots flew the critical fact-gathering missions without being paid for them.

Because of the shutdown, the federal flight engineers and pilots working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flew several missions into the eye of Melissa with their paychecks on hold. While the essential employees were required to show up to work to fly the missions, the crews were prohibited from flying extra runs through the hurricane and from dropping additional research instruments not considered to be important to the forecast for the storm.