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15h ago

DoD and NOAA to Cut Real-Time Microwave Data Used in Hurricane Forecasts

Loss of microwave data threatens to leave rapid overnight storm intensification unmonitored

FILE - Debris is strewn on the lake in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Oct. 2, 2024, in Lake Lure, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
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FILE - A property owner, who preferred not to give his name, peers into the remains of the second floor unit where he lived with his wife while renting out the other units, on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
FILE - A collapsed building is visible after Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Overview

  • On June 30, the DoD and NOAA will permanently cease processing and distributing microwave data from three aging DMSP satellites, cutting off a key real-time feed for hurricane analysis.
  • Meteorologists warn that without under-cloud microwave imagery—especially at night—rapid intensification and eyewall formation could go undetected until daylight.
  • National Hurricane Center staff are preparing to forecast this season without the SSMIS data stream, a change experts say will degrade predictions for tens of millions along U.S. and Canadian coasts.
  • NOAA spokesperson Kim Doster described the termination as a routine data rotation and replacement, asserting that remaining satellite, aircraft, radar, and model inputs will sustain forecast quality.
  • A replacement microwave satellite, WSF-M, was launched in 2024 but remains inaccessible to forecasters, leaving uncertainty over when its data will fill the gap.