CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Residents in the Cape Canaveral area fear a decision by the federal government to remove two buoys will hurt hurricane forecasting and fishing reports.
Florida Today reports that the buoys, stationed about 120 nautical miles east of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Oceans, will be taken offline this spring.
They are part of NOAA's National Data Buoy Center and provide information including wind direction, wind speed, air and water temperature, wave heights and barometric pressure.
The buoys had been had been funded by both NASA and the Air Force and were used to help recover booster rockets from the space shuttle.
Government officials say the buoy program is a victim of shuttle-related funding cuts.