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Main NOAA Satellite Used to Track Gulf, Atlantic Hurricanes Is Back Online After Temporary Outage
Engineers recovered the satellite in less than 24 hours, restoring imagery used to track hurricanes, thunderstorms and wildfire smoke.
- On Thursday, the main National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite, GOES-19, returned to service after an outage lasting nearly 24 hours. The satellite monitors the United States and Atlantic Ocean.
- University of Maryland atmospheric scientist Lars Peter Riishojgaard described 'Safehold' as a survival mode that deactivates non-essential systems when unexpected issues occur. Modern forecasting relies heavily on satellite imagery for continuous atmospheric and oceanic views.
- WTOP Meteorologist Mike Stinneford said the data loss caused immediate local challenges, including the inability to monitor moisture. Missing information helped push heat index values above 105 degrees, prompting expanded heat advisories.
- Hurricane expert Michael Lowry of WPLG-TV in Miami warned that satellite data is critical for hurricane intensity tracking. Without GOES-19 data, "model forecast skill to temporarily drop," Lowry said.
- NOAA maintains backup satellites like GOES-16, which remains operational, to ensure system redundancy. Riishojgaard noted the outage demonstrated the importance of weather satellites and confirmed backups can be activated if necessary.
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution90% Center
Bias Distribution
- 90% of the sources are Center
90% Center
C 90%
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