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American Military News
6 days ago
- Climate
- American Military News
US military reverses end to satellite weather sharing program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed on Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense will no longer end the sharing of critical satellite weather information this year after the military's plan to stop distributing forecast data from three old military satellites during hurricane season was met with pushback. Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a notice, saying, '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.' According to USA Today, the U.S. military's decision to stop providing satellite weather information over a year prior to the anticipated end of the program led to widespread backlash and resulted in the U.S. military extending the deadline to July 30. ABC News reported that the U.S. Navy told the outlet that its Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center had initially 'planned to phase out the data as part of a Defense Department modernization effort.' However, the Navy said that 'after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026.' READ MORE: US Air Force contracts with AI company to 'fingerprint' satellites In an updated alert on Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, 'The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to continue distribution of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data beyond July 31, 2025. As a result, there will be no interruption to DMSP data delivery.' According to USA Today, Walter Meier, a research scientist at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, explained that the three Department of Defense Satellites that provide data to weather forecasters use microwave sounders to track rain and wind. Scientists told the outlet that while the U.S. military and federal agencies use the information for computer modeling purposes, the information is also viewed as critical for documenting details regarding the Earth's polar regions and for obtaining hurricane data. Following Wednesday's confirmation that the aging military satellites would continue to distribute information to weather forecasters, Michael Lowry, National Hurricane Center Storm Surge Unit meteorologist, released a statement assuring the public that the agency's 'hurricane forecast tools should stay in tact.' Lowry added that a 'crisis' was 'averted' by the military reversing its original decision.
UPI
31-07-2025
- Climate
- UPI
Defense Department opts to not end satellite data for storm forecasts
An infrared satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean shows Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 6, 2019, as a Category 2 hurricane. U.S. Navy photo via Naval Research Laboratory July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department won't end the dispersal of key satellite weather data on Friday as planned. One month ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published a notice about the change by the U.S. Navy, effective July 1. Then NOAA said the change would be delayed by one month until Thursday. In an update posted Wednesday, the phase-out plans were pushed back one year. "The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to continue distribution of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data beyond July 31, 2025," the update said. "As a result, there will be no interruption to DMSP data delivery." With the peak hurricane season underway, forecasters with the National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center, media outlets, private meteorologists and weather watchers had expressed concern about not getting the satellite imagery. "Crisis averted," Michael Lowry, a meteorologist at the Storm Surge Unit of the National Hurricane Center, posted on Blue Sky, noting it "means our hurricane forecast tools should stay intact." 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. A U.N. Navy official told ABC News that plans were to "phase out the data as part of the Defense Department modernization effort," but pushed it back after feedback and a "way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026." For 40 years, the Pentagon has operated satellites for atmospheric and ocean conditions. Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder Sensors onboard three DMSP satellites will be turned off. The satellites gather multiple wavelengths of light, including visible, infrared and 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. With the real-time 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. 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 Navy 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." Nevertheless, the Trump administration has been making cuts to the federal agencies with dealing with weather. The National Hurricane Center, which is overseen by NOAA, didn'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. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 with six so far named in the Pacific and three so far in the Atlantic.
30-07-2025
- Climate
Defense Department will continue providing critical weather satellite data to NOAA
A little over a month since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it and the National Weather Service (NWS) would no longer be receiving critical satellite weather data used in forecasting hurricanes, the Department of Defense now says it will continue to provide the agencies information from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS). The U.S. Navy told ABC News that its Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center 'had planned to phase out the data as part of a Defense Department modernization effort. But after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026.' The Navy previously told ABC News in a statement that "We can confirm that the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center will no longer contribute to processing and disseminating Defense Meteorological Satellite Program data on July 31, 2025, in accordance with Department of Defense policy. DMSP is a joint program owned by the U.S. Space Force and scheduled for discontinuation in September 2026. The Navy is discontinuing contributions to DMSP given the program no longer meets our information technology modernization requirements." The SSMIS instruments are part of three weather satellites that are in low-Earth orbit and are maintained by NOAA in cooperation with the Department of Defense. They provide critical weather information that can't yet be replaced by other satellites and weather instruments, according to NOAA. The SSMIS offers forecasters the ability to examine the inner workings of active tropical systems and to better understand their behavior. Specifically, the tool uses microwaves to penetrate clouds and obtain a clearer picture of the inner structure of a tropical cyclone. This enables forecasters to better monitor the current progress of such storms, including the ability to identify the exact center of the weather system for use in creating forecast models. Other weather satellites use visible and infrared imagery, which can only capture surface-level details of the cloud tops of such storms, rather than what's happening inside of them. These satellites also are ineffective after sunset, when it's too dark to see and when direct observations over open water are scarce. Because the SSMIS system doesn't have these limitations, forecasters rely on the data it collects during such periods. Weather forecast models are sensitive to initial weather conditions and rely on multiple sources of accurate weather data for forecasting. Any degradation or discontinuity in the data, whether in terms of quality or quantity, could negatively affect the model's forecasting skill, scientists warn.
Axios
29-07-2025
- Climate
- Axios
NOAA will maintain vital satellite data used for hurricane forecasting
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will maintain long-term access to key Defense Department satellite data used for hurricane forecasting and more, the agency said in a statement Tuesday. Why it matters: The potential loss of the data threw a monkey wrench in forecasting operations just ahead of what's expected to be an above-average hurricane season. Driving the news: "The Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) has announced plans to continue distribution of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data beyond July 31, 2025," NOAA said in a statement, referring to a U.S. Navy forecasting unit and a DoD-run weather satellite program. "As a result, there will be no interruption to DMSP data delivery and NOAA will continue to have access to data from DMSP for the duration of the program's life span." News of the extension was earlier reported by meteorologist Michael Lowry, who previously wrote a detailed explanation of the program and its many benefits to forecasters. Catch up quick: The Defense Department shocked the meteorology world in June when it unexpectedly announced that access to the satellite data would be suspended due to undefined cybersecurity issues. The Pentagon later granted a monthlong extension that was set to expire this Thursday, July 31. What they're saying: The about-face "means our hurricane forecast tools should stay intact," Lowry posted Tuesday morning. "Crisis averted." Between the lines: Weather data is vital to both military operations and civilian users. The DMSP has been collecting weather data for U.S. military operations for more than five decades, according to the U.S. Space Force.
Scientific American
29-07-2025
- Science
- Scientific American
Hurricane Forecasters Keep Crucial Satellite Data Online after Threatened Cuts
Satellite data that are useful for weather forecasting—and particularly crucial to monitoring hurricanes —will not be cut off by the Department of Defense at the end of the month as originally planned. The data, which provide an X-ray-like view of a hurricane's internal structure, will remain accessible to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the satellites' lifespans, a NOAA spokesperson confirmed in an email to Scientific American. The data come from sensors onboard Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites that detect the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwaves are useful in monitoring hurricanes, because their long wavelengths mean they penetrate the tops of clouds, giving forecasters a view of a hurricane's inner workings—particularly changes to its eye and eye wall (the circle of clouds that surrounds the eye and makes up the strongest part of the storm). Such changes can indicate if a hurricane is strengthening or weakening. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. These data are particularly useful for monitoring storms at night, when visible satellite imagery is unavailable, and for catching rapid intensification —when a storm's winds jump by at least 35 miles per hour in 24 hours. The faster forecasters note a storm is quickly ramping up in intensity, the faster they can warn people in harm's way. Because the microwaves emitted from Earth are weak, they can only be detected by satellites in very low-Earth orbit. (The geostationary satellites that provide visible imagery orbit farther out.) But satellites in these low orbits can only see small portions of the planet at a time, meaning many of them are needed to adequately monitor the planet and there are longer time gaps between when these sensors 'revisit' a given spot. Those limitations mean microwave data are already scarce. Currently six satellites provide that information for U.S. weather forecasting purposes, and they are useful for hurricane forecasting only if they serendipitously pass overhead at the right time. In June, NOAA announced that data from three would no longer be available to its scientists. The shutoff was deemed necessary because the system that processes the DMSP data is running on an operating system that is too old to update and that posed cybersecurity concerns. It is not clear why the shutoff will no longer take place as planned. Meteorologists welcome the continued availability of the data, as the Atlantic hurricane season will enter its typical period of peak activity in August. But many have expressed continued concerns about other factors that could affect forecasts and public safety, particularly staffing and budget cuts at the National Weather Service. 'While this is good news, constant uncertainty about decision-making and availability of funding, staffing, and services is a horrible way to operate,' meteorologist Chris Vagasky wrote on Bluesky. 'People, companies, and governments have to be able to look ahead to know what decisions to make, and uncertainty destroys that capability.'
