NOAA Delays Satellite Data Cutoff Amid Hurricane Forecast Concerns

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has postponed by one month the planned discontinuation of satellite data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), now scheduled for July 31, 2025, instead of June 30 as initially planned. This data is crucial for hurricane tracking and provides unique three-dimensional and nighttime storm information that conventional satellites cannot capture, making it vital during the peak hurricane season. The original decision to cease DMSP data was made to mitigate a significant cybersecurity risk, but the delay came after a request from NASA and concerns from meteorologists about potential degradation in hurricane track and intensity forecasts. Experts, including former NOAA leader Rick Spinrad and Marc Alessi of the Union of Concerned Scientists, have warned that losing this data could impair the National Hurricane Center's forecasting ability amid worsening climate-driven extreme weather. NOAA maintains that the satellite data is one part of a comprehensive forecasting toolkit and asserts it can still provide gold-standard weather forecasts despite budget cuts and the data phase-out. The postponement reflects ongoing challenges within the nation's weather agencies, which have undergone significant staffing and operational changes under President Trump's administration.