D-DAY: How a 21-year-old woman saved the forecast
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KRIS) — You might know that weather played an important role in the execution of Operation Overlord: the Invasion of Normandy, known as D-Day.
The invasion was the largest amphibious invasion in military history, including land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies. It’s known as a key turning point in the second world war, but June 6, 1944 as not the original date chosen for the attack. June 5 was the original date for D-Day as military meteorologists were forecasting low tides, a full moon, and fair weather. However, Allied Forces’ meteorologists were in disagreement over the forecast.
On June 3, 1944, Maureen Flavin Sweeney was working at a post office at Blacksod Point in County Mayo, Ireland. She and her husband Ted were tasked with taking weather observations every hour, 24 hours a day, to relaying their findings to the British Meteorological Office. During the early morning hours of June 3, also her birthday, the 21-year-old weather observed noted a drop in atmospheric pressure. Blacksod Point was a crucial observing point for meteorologists thanks to its location in extreme northwest Ireland. The first signs of any storm approaching storm systems would be felt here— and that’s exactly what Maureen’s observations showed.
When meteorologists received her report via secret telegraph, they immediately phoned Maureen to confirm her report. She was asked to carefully check the observations, which she confirmed we correct. The findings led the Allies’ chief meteorologist James Martin Stagg to conclude June 5 was unfavorable for the operation. General Dwight D. Eisenhower delayed D-Day to June 6th.
The forecast would ultimately verify, and strong winds and overcast skies along the coast Normandy. On June 4, Maureen’s 1 p.m. observation noted increasing pressure, a sign that the weather was improving. Once again, Stagg was able to relay a favorable forecast to Ally commanders.
In the 1940’s, meteorologists did not have satellite imagery, doppler radar, computer models, or other modern technology we use to forecast the weather today. Weather observations and hand-drawn maps were the predominant tools weather forecasters used to determine the future conditions. A major turning point in World War II hinged on the weather observations of a 21-year-woman.
Maureen Flavin Sweeney wouldn’t know the role her reports played in D-Day until a decade later. According to The Associated Press, it wasn’t until 1956, when Ireland’s meteorological service gave her a copy of the data that informed the D-Day weather forecasts, that she knew of her work’s importance. In 2022, she was honored with a medal from the House of Representatives. Maureen Flavin Sweeney died on December 17, 2023 at the age of 100.
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