The Department of Defense is abruptly shutting down a satellite program that meteorologists say is crucial to hurricane forecasting — just as what’s expected to be an “above-normal” Atlantic hurricane season is picking up.
These particular satellites, part of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, provide hurricane forecasters with real-time imagery and data. James Franklin, who served as the National Hurricane Center chief until 2017, said that information is especially important for monitoring storms at night.
“Things are being taken away all across the forecasting enterprise. This particular one is going to result in delays in the recognition from [the National Hurricane Center] that storms are strengthening,” Franklin told NOTUS. “It’ll result in delays in forecasts of rapid intensification, because often, the first clue that you’re going to have rapid intensification is this imagery.”