NOAA delays the cutoff of key satellite data for hurricane forecasting
[July 01, 2025]
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it is
delaying by one month the planned cutoff of satellite data that helps
forecasters track hurricanes.
Meteorologists and scientists warned of severe consequences last week
when NOAA said, in the midst of this year’s hurricane season, that it
would almost immediately discontinue key data collected by three weather
satellites that the agency jointly runs with the Defense Department.
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s microwave data gives key
information that can’t be gleaned from conventional satellites. That
includes three-dimensional details of a storm, what's going on inside of
it and what it is doing in the overnight hours, experts say.
The data was initially planned to be cut off on June 30 “to mitigate a
significant cybersecurity risk,” NOAA’s announcement said. The agency
now says it's postponing that until July 31. Peak hurricane season is
usually from mid-August to mid-October.
NOAA didn't immediately respond to a message seeking more details about
the reason for the delay. The Navy confirmed the new date and said only
that the "program no longer meets our information technology
modernization requirements.”
NOAA — which has been the subject of hefty Department of Government
Efficiency cuts this year — said Friday the satellite program accounts
for a “single dataset in a robust suite of hurricane forecasting and
modeling tools” in the National Weather Service's portfolio.
[to top of second column]
|
A water rescue boat moves in floodwaters at an apartment complex in
the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Oct. 10, 2024, in Clearwater,
Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
The agency's “data sources are fully capable of providing a complete
suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard
weather forecasting the American people deserve,” a spokesperson
said.
But Union of Concerned Scientists science fellow Marc Alessi told
The Associated Press on Friday that detecting the rapid
intensification, and more accurately predicting the likely path, of
storms is critical as climate change worsens the extreme weather
experienced across the globe.
“Not only are we losing the ability to make better intensification
forecasts, we are also losing the ability to predict accurately
where a tropical cyclone could be going, if it’s in its development
stages,” Alessi said. "This data is essential.
“On the seasonal forecasting front, we would see the effects," he
added, "but also on the long-term climate change front, we now are
losing an essential piece to monitoring global warming.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
