Scientists have lost access to a major forecasting tool as what could be a very busy hurricane season gets underway

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By Andrew Freedman, CNN. 

Excerpt: For the past four years, a fleet of drone vessels has purposefully steered into the heart of hurricanes to gather information on a storm’s wind speeds, wave heights and, critically, the complex transfer of heat and moisture between the ocean and the air right above it. These small boats from California-based company Saildrone also film harrowing footage from the ocean surface in the middle of nature’s most powerful tempests—videos that are scientifically useful and have also gone viral, giving ordinary people windows into storms. Importantly, Saildrone vessels were being used by federal scientists to improve forecast and warning accuracy. But they won’t be in forecasters’ suite of tools this year. The company “was unable to bid” on a contract for this season, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Keeley Belva told CNN. The reason why concerns the timing of NOAA’s solicitation for this season’s contract.... NOAA sent out its request for contract proposals too late, preventing Saildrone not just from bidding, but from pre-deploying its fleet to multiple launching ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast in time for hurricane season. It’s another example among many of the ways the Trump administration has fumbled storm preparedness and response efforts as the season begins, leading to fears of less accurate hurricane projections compared to recent years.... 


June 26 update:  Data Crucial to Hurricane Forecasts Will Continue, but for One Month Only. By Rebecca Dzombak and Sachi Kitajima Mulkey, The New York Times. Excerpt: The Department of Defense on Monday reversed course, temporarily, on canceling the availability of satellite data that is key to monitoring hurricane movements and structures. The data will now be available to hurricane forecasters through July 31, rather than the previous June 30 deadline. The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration announced last week that data from three satellites jointly run by NOAA and the Defense Department would become unavailable for researchers and forecasters no later than June 30. “Recent service changes” was the only explanation provided. An announcement from NOAA on Monday cites a “significant cybersecurity risk” as the reason for taking the data offline. ...Losing access to the data would immediately degrade the quality of hurricane forecasts, increasing risk to life and property in the United States and elsewhere, experts said.... Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/climate/noaa-hurricane-data-offline.html.

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