Cape Weather Service Site Closes Because It Could Fall Into Ocean

CHATHAM, MA — For half a century, the National Weather Service has used an office in Chatham, where it launched weather balloons to track storms, climate change and more. But now, researchers have abandoned the outpost because those same elements will likely force it to fall into the ocean.

On March 31, the handful of workers who operated the outpost were evacuated from the facility, and a demolition crew is set to raze the building in May. Andy Nash, the head meteorologist for the National Weather Service's Boston office, said he knew there was only so much time left at the station because of erosion.

Still, until recently, the weather station had about a 100-foot buffer of land to a bluff that dropped into the ocean. Nash said he thought the outpost had another 10 years before erosion would cause a relocation, but a series of strong storms in 2020 accelerated the erosion. Nash said the buffer started taking on about a foot-and-a-half of erosion a week.

"In Chatham, there's some sandbars, and they move around and shift as storms come and go," Nash said. "A few years ago a storm put a cut in one of the sandbars. This started the erosion. It really took off in the later half of 2020."

The National Weather Service established the weather station in 1970 and used it to gauge temperature, humidity levels, wind speed and more. Nash said the loss of the station won't compromise weather monitoring in the region, but it does leave a gap in research sites. Meteorologists will use upper-air sites like those in Brookhaven, N.Y., and Gray, Maine, to get similar information, the National Weather Service said in a statement.

The National Weather Service is expected to look for a new site on Cape Cod with higher ground, but Nash said it's unclear if the new station will be in Chatham.

"It's still unknown where we are going to end up," Nash said "I know the town would like us there because of the history."

In a statement, the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge said it will work with the National Weather Service to help it find a new site in the region.

"Though it is a natural process, coastal shoreline erosion can present management challenges, and we know it is an issue of concern to refuge visitors and our neighbors," the statement read. "We are committed to working with partners and landowners to mitigate impacts, adapt operations, and relocate facilities, such as the National Weather Service’s Chatham Upper Air Station, as conditions warrant."