East Coast weather satellite fails, spare used

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. weather satellite that tracks the East Coast and Atlantic hurricanes is broken.

Meteorologists are scrambling to fill in lost data for forecasters with a spare satellite and help from a European satellite.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesman Scott Smullen said engineers shut down the East Coast satellite on Sunday because of vibrations. They’re still trying to diagnose the problem.

Smullen said there may be a slight decrease in the accuracy of weather forecasts. NOAA is checking to see if it will affect hurricane forecasting.

The $500 million satellite was launched in 2006, but it wasn’t used regularly to monitor weather until 2010.

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