The National Weather Service (NWS) is a U.S. federal government agency responsible for providing weather forecasts, warnings, and information to the public and organizations. A part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the Department of Commerce, the NWS is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. Its mission is to protect life and property through timely and accurate weather information. Originally known as the United States Weather Bureau (1891-1970), the agency adopted its current name in 1970.
1937: First Radiosonde Launch
The Weather Bureau launched its first radiosonde in Massachusetts in 1937. This marked a shift away from aircraft observations toward the use of radiosondes.
1938: Lifting of "Tornado" Ban for Emergency Management
In 1938, the Weather Bureau lifted the ban on the word "tornado" in its weather products, but only for emergency management personnel. This change was made due to concerns about public panic, but the lack of warnings had contributed to high death tolls in past tornado outbreaks.
1940: Transfer to Department of Commerce
In 1940, the Weather Bureau was moved to the Department of Commerce.
1941: First Female Statistician
Margaret Smagorinsky became the first female statistician hired by the Weather Bureau in 1941.
September 23, 1946: First River Forecast Center Founded
The first River Forecast Center (RFC) was established on September 23, 1946, initiating a system for issuing daily river forecasts based on various hydrological models and data.
1948: USAF Severe Weather Warning Center Pioneered Tornado Forecasts
The USAF Severe Weather Warning Center, pioneered tornado forecasts in 1948, led by Air Force Capt. Robert C. Miller and Major Ernest Fawbush.
July 12, 1950: Official Lift of Public Tornado Alert Ban
On July 12, 1950, the official ban on public tornado alerts was lifted by Bureau Chief Francis W. Reichelderfer. He emphasized that the Bureau was willing and able to issue such forecasts when there was a "good probability of verification".
March 1952: First Experimental Public Tornado Forecasts
Following criticism, the Bureau issued its first experimental public tornado forecasts in March 1952. This was a significant step towards providing earlier warnings to the public.
1957: Radar Integration for Short-Term Forecasting
The Bureau began using radar for short-term forecasting of local storms and hydrological events in 1957. They used modified Navy aircraft radar to create the WSR-57, beginning a nationwide deployment of WSR systems.
August 1966: Integration into Environmental Science Services Administration
The Weather Bureau became part of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) in August 1966.
October 1, 1970: Formation of NOAA and NWS
With the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act, ESSA was renamed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on October 1, 1970. The Weather Bureau became the National Weather Service within NOAA.
1970: Name Change to National Weather Service
In 1970, the Weather Bureau was renamed to the National Weather Service as part of the establishment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
1974: WSR Radar Upgrades
Starting in 1974, some of the WSR radars were upgraded to the WSR-74 model, improving weather surveillance capabilities.
1983: Reagan Administration's Privatization Proposal
In 1983, the Reagan administration proposed selling the NWS's weather satellites and outsourcing various services to private companies. This proposal faced strong public and Congressional opposition due to concerns about privatizing weather information, and it ultimately failed.
1983: Privatization Proposal Fails
In 1983, NOAA administrator John V. Byrne proposed privatizing various NWS functions, including weather satellites, observation stations, and NOAA Weather Radio. This proposal failed in a Congressional vote.
1988: NEXRAD Deployment Begins
The deployment of NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar), a Doppler radar system, began in 1988. This system aimed to improve the detection and warning time for severe local storms, eventually replacing older WSR-57 and WSR-74 systems.
1997: WSR-88D Doppler Weather Radar System Deployment
In 1997, the National Weather Service (NWS) completed the nationwide deployment of the WSR-88D Doppler weather radar system, also known as NEXRAD, across the United States and its territories. This technology significantly improved severe weather warning operations due to its high resolution and ability to detect intra-cloud motions.
1997: NEXRAD Deployment Completed
The deployment of the NEXRAD system was completed in 1997, marking a significant upgrade in severe weather detection capabilities.
October 2000: NOAA Weather Wire Service Established
The NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS) was established in October 2000 to provide fast delivery of weather, water, and climate information to various users, including government agencies, commercial entities, media outlets, and the public.
2005: National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005
In 2005, Senator Rick Santorum introduced a bill to prohibit the NWS from freely distributing weather data. The bill faced widespread criticism, especially from emergency management officials and aviation groups, due to safety concerns. The bill died in committee.
2005: Controversy over NWS Competition with Private Sector
In 2005, some conservatives raised concerns about the NWS competing unfairly with the private sector by providing free weather forecasts and data, which are in the public domain. Reviews were conducted to assess potential privatization options for a more efficient approach.
September 30, 2007: End of Geopolitical Warning Boundaries
Until September 30, 2007, the National Weather Service issued warnings based on geopolitical boundaries.
October 1, 2007: Storm-Based Warnings Implemented
On October 1, 2007, the NWS switched to a storm-based warning system. This system used polygonal shapes on maps to define warning areas, outlining specific sections within jurisdictions based on a storm's projected path as determined by Doppler radar.
April 2012: Impact Based Warning System Pilot Project
In April 2012, the NWS launched a pilot program for its Impact Based Warning system in several Kansas and Missouri locations. This aimed to add details about hazard sources, potential damage, and radar indications to warnings.
2015: Impact Based Warning System Expansion
By the spring of 2015, the Impact Based Warning System pilot project had expanded to 80 Weather Forecast Offices across the Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Regions.
2016: Organizational Structure of the NWS
As of 2016, the National Weather Service had a specific organizational structure in place. No other information was given in the text.
2016: Next Generation Global Prediction System Project
In 2016, NOAA announced the development of the Next Generation Global Prediction System, aiming to improve the accuracy of NWS forecasts by implementing a unified high-quality model based on recent research.
2016: Criticism of NWS Forecast Accuracy
In 2016, critics argued that NWS forecasts were not as accurate as those of other organizations like the British Met Office and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, citing issues in predicting extreme weather events. Several reasons were given as to why the forecasts were inaccurate.
2016: NWS Supercomputer Upgrade
In 2016, the NWS invested $44 million in two new supercomputers from Cray and IBM, significantly increasing its computational power from 776 teraflops to 5.78 petaflops. This upgrade was driven by the need to improve the accuracy of the Global Forecast System (GFS) numerical weather prediction model, which had previously shown lower accuracy compared to other global models, notably in the case of Hurricane Sandy's landfall prediction in 2012.