3. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for Air to what extent his Department's meteorologists rely for weather forecasting on reports available from the United States satellite Tiros IV; and whether such reports were available to this country over the Whitsun holidays.
§ Mr. AmeryThese reports are of limited value to forecasters in this country, partly because they arrive several 1130 hours later than the reports we receive from surface stations and ships.
A partial failure of the equipment in Tiros IV on 8th June limited its observations to America and the adjacent sea areas and none of the reports we received over Whitsun was relevant to British weather.
Mr. Gresham CookeIf the reports from Tiros IV are from time to time ineffective, does that mean that our meteorological forecasts here will not be so good as they have been when Tiros is effective?
§ Mr. AmeryNo, I do not think so. I think that it simply means that British weather is very unpredictable