Daniel Wolfram
Watchdogs warn of deadly blind spots during severe storms after vital tracking tools get the axe.
Major changes are coming to America’s orbital storm-spotting satellites. According to a Government Accountability Office report, federal authorities slashed funding for the next generation of weather satellites by cutting lifecycle costs from $19.6 billion down to $13 billion.
The decision leaves researchers with far fewer cost-effective tools to track severe weather events.
The fallout could be severe, especially in these uncertain times when weather conditions continue to worsen every season in the U.S.
Blind spots in weather tracking
These geostationary craft hover over fixed spots on the globe to snap cloud images seen on evening newscasts. Under the revised plan, known as GeoXO, the fleet drops from six orbiters to just four.
Key sensors were scrapped entirely. Officials nixed tools meant to track wildfire smoke, coastal water health, and sudden lightning flashes that help forecasters spot tornadoes.
And that leaves forecasters facing a serious blind spot. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned of a potential data gap lasting several months between the retirement of older satellites and the 2032 debut of replacements.
During that window, meteorologists would lose real-time visibility over rapidly forming disasters. Vital storm alerts could suffer.
Storm over cuts
Capitol Hill is already fighting the reductions. In a letter, Democratic House Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Gabe Amo issued a warning with an ironic twist.
“Thanks to the Trump Administration, the next generation of America’s weather satellites could very well be worse than the current ones,” they wrote.
However, the agency tasked with forecasting weather in the U.S. defended the reshaped program as a practical move. Kim Doster, communications director at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told CNN that the updated orbiters still provide reliable information.
As Doster put it, “The GeoXO satellite system is optimized to align with NOAA’s weather mission.”
Outside experts remain deeply worried. Steve Volz, who previously ran NOAA’s satellite division, told CNN, “Our need for weather information is much greater now than it was ten years ago.” He fears that the United States risks falling behind rival programs in Europe, Japan, and China.
