07-03-2025, 05:50 PM
A critical part of the US hurricane tracking system was deactivated recently. The DMSP satellites used infrared to penetrate cloud cover which provided data not available by any other means. In a polar orbit, they passed over Hawaii so were a part of Central Pacific forecasts. The satellites are still functional. They also monitored Arctic and Antarctic ice, so probably the real reason their data collection was halted.
There are multiple news stories about how this will impact hurricane forecasts, immediately, and reduce the accuracy of our forecasts.
A critical US atmospheric data collection program will be halted by Monday, giving weather forecasters just days to prepare, according to a public notice sent this week. Scientists that the Guardian spoke with say the change could set hurricane forecasting back “decades”, just as this year’s season ramps up.
In a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) message sent on Wednesday to its scientists, the agency said that “due to recent service changes” the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) will “discontinue ingest, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...ng-climate
There are multiple news stories about how this will impact hurricane forecasts, immediately, and reduce the accuracy of our forecasts.
A critical US atmospheric data collection program will be halted by Monday, giving weather forecasters just days to prepare, according to a public notice sent this week. Scientists that the Guardian spoke with say the change could set hurricane forecasting back “decades”, just as this year’s season ramps up.
In a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) message sent on Wednesday to its scientists, the agency said that “due to recent service changes” the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) will “discontinue ingest, processing and distribution of all DMSP data no later than June 30, 2025”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...ng-climate
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