U.S. delays cutoff of valuable satellite data for hurricane forecasting

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 4:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it is delaying by 1 period the planned cutoff of outer information that helps forecasters way hurricanes.

Meteorologists and scientists warned of terrible consequences last week erstwhile NOAA said, successful the midst of this year's hurricane season, that it would astir instantly discontinue cardinal information collected by 3 upwind satellites that the bureau jointly runs with the U.S. Defense Department.

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's microwave information gives cardinal accusation that can't beryllium gleaned from accepted satellites. That includes three-dimensional details of a storm, what's going connected wrong of it and what it is doing successful the overnight hours, experts say.

The information was initially planned to beryllium chopped disconnected connected June 30 "to mitigate a important cybersecurity risk," NOAA's announcement said. The bureau present says it's postponing that until July 31. Peak hurricane play is usually from mid-August to mid-October.

NOAA didn't instantly respond to a connection seeking much details astir the crushed for the delay. The U.S. Navy confirmed the caller day and said lone that the "program nary longer meets our accusation exertion modernization requirements."

Satellite information 'essential,' scientist says

NOAA — which has been the subject of hefty Department of Government Efficiency cuts this twelvemonth — said Friday the outer programme accounts for a "single dataset successful a robust suite of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools" successful the National Weather Service's portfolio.

The agency's "data sources are afloat susceptible of providing a implicit suite of cutting-edge information and models that guarantee the gold-standard upwind forecasting the American radical deserve," a spokesperson said.

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Environment and Climate Change Canada said successful an email to CBC News that they bash not expect the suspension of the U.S  satellite information to interaction the prime of its forecasts, saying that they person a wide assortment of tools and enactment intimately with different services, arsenic good arsenic the World Meteorological Organization.

"Canadians tin proceed to trust connected ECCC for timely, reliable hurricane forecasts, alerts, and tracking information," said an ECCC spokesperson.

"The department's capableness to present clime and aerial prime subject is not affected by these changes due to the fact that it operates its ain Canadian models and uses a assortment of observations from antithetic sources to forecast Canada's changing upwind and its impacts connected radical surviving successful Canada."

But Union of Concerned Scientists subject chap Marc Alessi told The Associated Press connected Friday that detecting the accelerated intensification, and much accurately predicting the apt path, of storms is captious as climate alteration worsens  utmost weather experienced crossed the globe.

"Not lone are we losing the quality to marque amended intensification forecasts, we are besides losing the quality to foretell accurately wherever a tropical cyclone could beryllium going, if it's successful its improvement stages," Alessi said. "This information is essential."

"On the seasonal forecasting front, we would spot the effects," helium added, "but besides connected the semipermanent clime alteration front, we present are losing an indispensable portion to monitoring planetary warming."

Data helps place accelerated intensification 

Traditional disposable oregon infrared satellites supply information that becomes images showing the structure, strength and somesthesia of a storm, according to NOAA information, on with features specified arsenic lightning. But those miss the three-dimensional details of a storm.

The microwave information gives captious accusation that can't beryllium gleaned from accepted satellites, and helps adjacent nether a regular representation of a hurricane oregon a tropical cyclone to spot what's going connected inside. It is particularly adjuvant astatine night.

"Think of hurricane forecasting similar diagnosing a superior aesculapian condition. Losing entree to these peculiar outer sensors volition bounds our quality to spot the good details of a tempest that different satellites miss — akin to however a CT scan tin uncover important details that an X-ray tin miss," Chris Scott, The Weather Network's main meteorologist, said successful an email to CBC News connected Friday erstwhile the chopped disconnected was archetypal announced.

Scott said Canadian meteorologists usage outer information to estimation the spot and determination of hurricanes approaching the Atlantic provinces. Losing that information could mean a tempest forecast to deed Nova Scotia successful a time could look weaker than it really is, which could impact however radical prepare.

"While the interaction of losing this information volition alteration depending connected the situation, there's nary question it's a negative," helium said.