# National Weather Service accidentally orders thousands of rounds of ammunition **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005 "2012-08-19T23:10:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/1 "2012-08-19T23:10:42Z")
> **[National Weather Service “ammunition” solicitation triggers confusion](https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/national-weather-service-ammunition-solicitation-triggers-confusion/2012/08/14/3dc6b67e-e62a-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_blog.html)** > > Weather forecasting or preparing for war? The National Weather Service (NWS) seeks to buy 46,000 rounds of ammunition for semiautomatic pistols says the FedBizOpps website. But spokesman Chris Vaccaro said the ammunition is not for the National... Okay, it’s a “clerical error” according to the person in charge, the 46,000 rounds of ammo were actually for the NOAA Division of Law Enforcement. But before I read more than the headline, I wondered if we were going to get more pro-active against tornadoes. My husband, Andy L, said, “Are they tired of just cloud _seeding_?” and “Maybe they’re going to do a new kind of skeet shooting. ‘Pull!’ and a hailstone gets blasted.” ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/2 "2012-08-20T00:37:27Z")
If Thor keeps hitting the place with his lightning bolts it’s only fair that you guys shoot back. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/3 "2012-08-20T00:46:42Z")
“The suspect went down in a hail of bullets.” ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/4 "2012-08-20T01:42:39Z")
Wait - NOAA has its own law enforcement agency? Are they basically to protect and patrol NOAA facilities, or do they actually investigate oceanic and atmospheric crimes and bust people for dumping crap in the Atlantic and overusing CFCs? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/5 "2012-08-20T01:48:04Z")
I think they’re just getting ready for winter. The next time I have to shovel eight inches of “partly sunny” slush off my driveway, they may need the ammo. And if I tap my Dad’s arsenal, they _still_ don’t have enough. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/6 "2012-08-20T02:55:19Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Wait - NOAA has its own law enforcement agency? > > Are they basically to protect and patrol NOAA facilities, or do they actually investigate oceanic and atmospheric crimes and bust people for dumping crap in the Atlantic and overusing CFCs? [They](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration_Fisheries_Office_for_Law_Enforcement) enforce fisheries protection laws and such. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/7 "2012-08-20T05:59:07Z")
You **don’t** mess with The National Weather Service.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/8 "2012-08-20T14:13:31Z")
> [@Encinitas](#): > > You **don’t** mess with The National Weather Service.:eek: Who needs ammunition when you can control a Category 5? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/9 "2012-08-20T14:16:20Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > I think they’re just getting ready for winter. I wonder if they have any howitzers to deal with snow packs. That’d really freak out the militia-types. (Seriously, one way to deal with potential avalanches is to set them off ahead of time – with howitzers.) ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/10 "2012-08-20T16:21:14Z")
Oh! Oh! I see a science experiment! Could you cause a cloud to dissipate by setting off explosives in the middle of it? I’m thinking the high-pressure wave created by the explosion could push the cloud apart. We just need some artillery and maybe a Superfortress or Stratofortress. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/11 "2012-08-20T18:38:23Z")
The ammo is for when they’re dealing with criminal elements. ---
**Author:** ![dexter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dc4da7/32.png) [@dexter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dexter)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/12 "2012-08-20T19:21:35Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The ammo is for when they’re dealing with criminal elements. Nah, they’re just gonna shoot the breeze. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-weather-service-accidentally-orders-thousands-of-rounds-of-ammunition/632005/13 "2012-08-20T20:19:01Z")
> [@dexter](#): > > Nah, they’re just gonna shoot the breeze. Winner!