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... NOAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Defense Department referred questions to the Air Force, which had not immediately responded.

The move came as a shock to much of the meteorological community, including Miami-based meteorologist and hurricane specialist Michael Lowry.

"My first reaction was, 'I must be reading something wrong,'" he said.

Lowry said the program's suspension means hurricane researchers across the country, including National Hurricane Center forecasters, will no longer receive real-time data from three microwave satellites. Those satellites, unlike traditional satellite technology, allow scientists to see through clouds and inside tropical storms and hurricanes, even in the dark. ...