Pentagon Sets July 31 Cut-Off for Hurricane Forecast Satellite Data

The U.S. Department of Defense has confirmed it will halt the flow of microwave imagery from three Defense Meteorological Satellite Program spacecraft to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration no later than 31 July 2025. The data, produced by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder, allows forecasters to peer inside developing tropical cyclones and gauge changes in storm intensity, especially at night or when reconnaissance aircraft are not on scene.

The termination was originally scheduled for 30 June but was postponed by a month after NOAA and NASA appealed for additional time. The Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, which processes the data, said the cut-off is needed to mitigate unspecified cybersecurity risks and to meet information-technology modernisation requirements. Military users will continue to receive the feed; only civil distribution will be discontinued.

Atmospheric scientists warn the loss removes roughly half of all microwave sounder coverage, likely increasing errors in forecasts of storm track and rapid intensification during the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season. Former National Hurricane Center officials have said the decision could ‘severely degrade’ warning lead times for tens of millions of coastal residents.

NOAA maintains that other satellites, hurricane-hunter aircraft and ocean buoys will enable it to provide “gold-standard” forecasts, but the agency is already coping with staffing and budget cuts enacted by the Trump administration. With the season forecast to be busier than average and its peak approaching in August and September, forecasters are racing to integrate alternative data sources before the Pentagon’s deadline.