As peak hurricane season begins, meteorologists will be without critical information starting Monday as the Defense Department announced it will no longer provide data from weather satellites.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a notice Wednesday announcing the change, which would take effect Tuesday. However, NOAA said Monday that the change would be delayed a month, until July 31.
On Friday, the Defense Department received a request from NASA to postpone the deadline.
In the initial announcement, NOAA stated: “Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and the Naval Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) will cease receiving, processing, and distributing all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025. This change and service discontinuance will be permanent.”
The change comes amid a reduction in NOAA staff and science programs.
One anonymous NOAA scientist told The Guardian that the changes amounted to a “systemic destruction of science.”
The Pentagon has been using satellites to monitor atmospheric and oceanic conditions for 40 years. It currently has three.
Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona, told Scientific American that the satellites collect light at different wavelengths, including visible, infrared and microwaves.
Microwaves are used to monitor hurricanes, Wood said, “because long waves can penetrate the upper layers of clouds” and help scientists understand the inner workings of storms, especially those that occur at night.
The U.S. Naval Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center processes the raw data, which is then used by researchers and meteorologists to generate actionable information. Satellites are also used to collect data on sea ice in polar regions.
A U.S. Space Force spokesman said in a statement that the satellites and instruments remain operational and that the Defense Department will continue to operate them despite limited access for scientists.
The agency uses this data to monitor the condition of its vessels.
“This is not about funding going down,” Mark Serrese, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a federally funded research center in Colorado, told NPR. “There are cybersecurity issues. That's what we're hearing.”
Using this data, hurricane experts can determine where the center of a storm is forming and therefore predict its possible movement, including its direction of landfall.
They can also detect when a new eyewall is forming, which helps determine intensity. This was demonstrated with Hurricane Erik earlier this month in the Pacific Ocean.
NOAA's National Hurricane Center does not expect forecast accuracy to decline.
“NOAA's data sources are fully capable of delivering a full suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold standard of weather forecasting the American people deserve,” Kim Doster, NOAA's director of public affairs, told NPR. NOAA and NASA also use satellites for forecasting.
Brian Tang, a hurricane researcher at the University at Albany, told NPR that it's important to have as many data sensors as possible.
“I was surprised, given how critical this is for hurricane forecasting and monitoring important features like sea ice,” Tan said. “These data are used regularly by forecasters.”
“We're a little bit blind right now,” Allison Wing, a hurricane researcher at Florida State University, told The Guardian.
“Before these satellites came along, it was common to wake up in the morning and be surprised to see a hurricane,” she added. “Given the increasing intensity of hurricanes and the increasing frequency of rapid intensification in recent years, now is not the time to be cutting back on information.”
The hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. There are currently five hurricanes registered in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic.
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