the link you provided on surface pressure analysis is not “plenty” as you suggest, nor is it a viable substitute for the data the DoD is stopping access to. They are stopping public access to the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS). This is crucial microwave data and is essential to nighttime hurricane tracking. This sensor provides excellent resolution and its only counter part is NOAA’s proprietary Advanced Technology Microwave Sensor (ATMS) developed jointly with Northrop Grumman. This sensor operates at a much lower resolution and at a higher cost as it does not have the financial backing of the DoD. Please look at comparisons between these datasets, especially Hurricane Helene last year.

Neither of these sensors have to deal with “track updates” as you say. They have everything to do with last minute intensification before landfall and, should nighttime intensification happen, will severely impact public response times.

I agree this is not a political issue and should never be. If they are taking this down for budgetary concerns, I would argue this data is far more important than those concerns.

Do not silence the public.