The US Department of Defense continues to share key data collected by three weather satellites that help predictors track hurricanes. Meteorologists and scientists had warned of the risks of accurate and timely storm tracing without information when authorities came up with plans to halt plans to provide it by the end of this month.
Defense officials had planned to block the distribution of microwave data from the Defense Weather Satellite Program, which is operating in collaboration with the National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration, by the end of June. At the time, NOAA said the cutoff was said to be “to mitigate critical cybersecurity risks,” but the US Navy said the program “did not meet the requirements for modernizing information technology.” The cancellation has been postponed for a month.
In a notice Wednesday, authorities said there would be no interruption at all.
The Navy said in a statement that its Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre “planned to phase out the data” as part of its modernization efforts. “However, after feedback from government partners, authorities have found ways to achieve modernization goals while data continues to flow until sensors fail in September 2026 or the programme officially closes.”
This data is being used by scientists, researchers, and predictors, including meteorologists at the National Hurricane Centre. It provides important information about storms that cannot be collected from traditional visible or infrared satellites.
“This satellite data allows hurricane predictors and their computer models to peer into the structure of the hurricane, providing important insights,” said Mark Alessi’s Union, Scientist Science Fellow. “Don’t make a mistake. This data not only improves the accuracy of predicting hurricanes, but it could also make the difference between whether communities are evacuating ahead of approaching hurricanes.”
Other microwave data would have been available at this cutoff, but experts said, but it increased the likelihood that predictors would miss certain aspects of the storm.
A NOAA spokesperson said agents will continue to have access to program lifespan data, saying it is just a “robust suite of hurricane prediction and modelling tools” for the National Weather Service to dispose of it to the National Weather Service to ensure gold standard weather that predicts for what is right for the American people.
The news initially raised scientific eyebrows during hurricane season. This usually peaked between mid-August and mid-October. Climate change, exacerbated by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, has made storms more frequent, severe and deadly.
“The last minute reprieve is hurricane predictors sighing at ease,” said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at Yale Climate Connection. “The loss of microwave satellite data is much more likely to delay timely warnings of dangerous and potentially fatal episodes of the hurricane’s rapid enhancement event up to 12 hours.”
He added that data repair is good news for scientists tracking ice losses in the Arctic Ocean. According to NOAA, images and microwave satellite data can estimate the amount of oceans covered in ice.
NOAA and the NWS have been subject to several cuts throughout President Donald Trump’s second term.
