Meteorologists Sound The Alarm On Trump Admin Cutting Key Forecasting Tool As Hurricane Season Heats Up

Meteorologists sounded the alarm on Thursday as news broke that the Pentagon was shutting down a satellite program that is key to hurricane forecasting, right as hurricane season is entering its peak months.

Matthew Cappucci, an atmospheric scientist and senior meteorologist, took to X to voice his shock at the move. “This is not a political post – but rather a notice that a vitally-important satellite used to probe and track hurricanes will be discontinued within a week,” Cappucci wrote, adding:

This will have noticeable negative impacts on hurricane forecasts and forecasting in general.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday that they will be cancelling the ingest, processing and distribution of data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS).

“This service change and termination will be permanent,” wrote NOAA.

Miami-based hurricane specialist Michael Lowry also raised the alarm, writing, “A huge blow was dealt to hurricane forecasters this week as a critical tool was abruptly terminated by @DeptofDefense and @NOAA. The immediate discontinuation of data from 3 weather satellites will severely impact hurricane forecasts this season and beyond.”

James Franklin, the former head of the National Hurricane Center, spoke to NOTUS about the change and warned, “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. 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.”

Scientists have warned in recent years that hurricanes are intensifying more rapidly, something which can already be difficult for meteorologists to predict or even track. In October of 2023, hurricane Otis hit the coastal resort city of Acapulco, Mexico with very little warning as a massive Category 5 storm – it was the first time since 1979 that such a large hurricane directly impacted a major city.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam tracked the storm’s path at the time and explained how a major city was hit by such a large storm with almost no warning.

“The storm struck in the dead of night. It gave very little warning. Very few weather models that meteorologists look to actually picked up on the rapid intensification that it actually went through in a 24-hour period,” Van Dam explained.

Local Texas meteorologist Dylan Federico replied to Lowry’s post and added, “This is a devastating loss. Is there any way for NOAA to appeal this decision?”

Trump administration cuts to the federal labor force also impacted the NOAA. NBC News reported on Wednesday that “Some former employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who were fired, rehired and fired again this spring say they have received debt notices from the federal government to pay it back for health care coverage.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who previously served as the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, testified before the House Rules Committee in late May and warned that FEMA will “fail” by the summer due to budget cuts.