Defense Department to end satellite data programs used for storm forecasts

June 28 (UPI) -- With the of peak hurricane season looming, forecasters will be without key information starting Monday because the Defense Department said it will no longer provide them with data from the weather satellites.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a notice Wednesday about the change.

"Due to recent service changes, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) will discontinue ingest, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025," the notice said. "This service change and termination will be permanent."

This change is coming amid cuts in staffing at NOAA, as well as reductions in scientific programs.

One unidentified NOAA scientist told The Guardian the changes amount to a "systemic destruction of science."

The U.S. Navy's satellite tracks Typhoon Hinnamnor approaching Okinawa on Aug 30, 2022, just before making a sharp turn towards the southwest and away from making landfall on Okinawa. Photo from Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center

For 40 years, the Pentagon has operated satellites for atmospheric and ocean conditions. There are three now.

The satellites gather multiple wavelengths of light, including visible, infrared, microwave, Kim Wood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Arizona, told Scientific American.

Microwaves are used to monitor hurricanes, Wood said, "because the waves are so long they get through the tops of the clouds" and help scientists to understand a storm's inner workings, especially those that occur at night.

The U.S. Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center processes raw data, which is then used by scientists and forecasters for real-time data. The satellites also are used to collect data on sea ice in polar regions.

A U.S. Space Force spokesperson said in a statement that the satellites and instruments are functional and that the Department of Defense will continue to use them while access for scientists is cut off.

The agency uses data to track conditions for its ships.

"It's not an issue of funding cuts," Mark Serreze, the director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a federally funded research center in Colorado, told NPR. "There are cybersecurity concerns. That's what we're being told."

With the data, hurricane experts can see where the center of a storm forms, and hence figure out the direction where it could be headed, including land.

Also, they can see when a new eyewall forms, which helps determine intensity. That was done with Hurricane Erick earlier this month in the Pacific Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center, which is overseen by NOAA, doesn't expect less-accurate forecasts.

"NOAA's data sources are fully capable of providing a complete suite of cutting-edge data and models that ensure the gold-standard weather forecasting the American people deserve," NOAA communications director Kim Doster told NPR. NOAA and NASA also operate satellites that are used for forecasts.

Brian Tang, a hurricane researcher at the University at Albany, told NPR that it is important to have as many data sensors as possible.

"I was surprised, given how important it is for forecasting hurricanes and monitoring important features like sea ice," Tang said. "This is data that forecasters use regularly."

"We're a bit blind now," said Allison Wing, a hurricane researcher at Florida State University, told The Guardian.

"Before these types of satellites were present, there would often be situations where you'd wake up in the morning and have a big surprise about what the hurricane looked like," she said. "Given increases in hurricane intensity and increasing prevalence towards rapid intensification in recent years, it's not a good time to have less information."

The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 with five so far named in the Pacific and one so far in the Atlantic.