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23h ago

U.S. Navy Reverses Data Cutoff, Extends Satellite Feed Critical to Hurricane Forecasts Through 2026

Pentagon will keep microwave observations flowing to NOAA to preserve tools for tracking hurricane rapid intensification along with daily polar monitoring until the program ends in September 2026.

FILE - Personnel from Urban Search and Rescue Utah Task Force 1 work in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Oct. 4, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
FILE - Dustin Holmes, second from right, holds hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, while returning to their flooded home with her children Aria Skye Hall, 7, right, and Kyle Ross, 4, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Sept. 27, 2024, in Crystal River, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
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Overview

  • On July 29, Navy and NOAA confirmed uninterrupted delivery of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program microwave data until sensor failure or the program’s scheduled September 2026 end.
  • The reversal follows expert warnings that losing microwave observations would degrade forecasts of rapidly intensifying storms and disrupt 38 years of continuous sea ice records.
  • Three DMSP satellites, in orbit since 2009 and far beyond their planned lifespans, supply about half of all interior storm scans and daily polar coverage.
  • Defense leaders had planned to halt the data by July 31 under cybersecurity and modernization directives aimed at replacing the aging fleet with newer systems.
  • NOAA maintains a robust suite of other forecasting tools but notes that none matches the unique all-weather, day-and-night penetration of microwave sounders.