Navy Replacing Old Weather Data System with New, Modern Alternatives
Effective July 31st, the Navy’s Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center ceased sharing satellite weather data with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). This transition is permanent, and is a result of the phasing out of the aging DMSP system, which had been providing NOAA with crucial global imagery of weather patterns. NOAA will now rely on data from the newer Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) and Electro-Optical Weather System (EWS) to ensure ongoing weather monitoring capabilities. While the loss of DMSP data may seem impactful, it is part of a larger modernization effort to provide more accurate weather predictions.
John Q. Hosedrinker