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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
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Appendix B

National Weather Service Organization

(Source, NWS)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The NWS is composed of a headquarters, regional offices, and national centers with field offices for meteorological and hydrological services. The NWS mission is supported through the activities of the organization on a 24 hour a day 7 day a week basis at the field offices under the leadership of the regional offices. There are six regional offices. They are Alaskan Region (Anchorage) with 4 forecast offices, Pacific Region (Honolulu) with 2 forecast offices, Western Region (Salt Lake City) with 24 forecast offices, Central Region (Kansas City) with 37 forecast offices, Southern Region (Fort Worth) with 31 forecast offices, and Eastern Region (Bohemia) with 23 forecast offices.

There are 13 River Forecast Offices located around the United States with one located in Alaskan Region, two in Central Region, three in Eastern Region, four in Southern Region, and three located in Western Region. Products are provided in the form of alphanumeric observations, forecasts, warnings, advisories, outlooks (covering their geographical areas of responsibility), and graphical products of various types.

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) was established in 1958 as the National Meteorological Center. Since the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×

center's beginning, operational weather forecasting has transformed from an infant discipline into a mature science.

NCEP is comprised of nine specialized centers for analyzing and forecasting the atmosphere on a global scale with some geographically separated centers having a specialized service focus on portions of the overall national warning and forecasting process.

  1. Aviation Weather Center (AWC), Kansas City, Missouri. The AWC has the responsibility of providing aviation weather warnings and forecasts for all domestic air routes and those areas of the globe for which the United States has international responsibility.

  2. Climate Prediction Center (CPC), Washington D.C. area. The CPC is responsible for the seasonal to interannual climate forecasts for the United States and well as general climate diagnostic and outlook information.

  3. Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), Washington, D.C. area. The EMC has the responsibility to develop, enhance and maintain numerical forecast systems in support of national and international forecast requirements. This report concentrates in large part on the activities of this center. It develops the models and provides the quality control and verification of them.

  4. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC), Washington, D.C. area. HPC produces the guidance forecast products of sensible weather and precipitation for use throughout the field office structure of the NWS. The products are also used extensively by the private sector and broadcast meteorologists.

  5. NCEP Central Operations, Washington, D.C. area. Central Operations are responsible for the operation of the computer and communications equipment used by NCEP centers. Central Operations is not responsible for the applications that are run on the systems.

  6. Marine Prediction Center (MPC), Washington, D.C. area. The MPC produces the marine weather forecast and real time oceanographic products to meet the national and international requirements.

  7. Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado. The SEC monitors solar activity and produces forecasts of space weather that may affect satellite, power, and communications systems.

  8. Storm Prediction Center (SPC), Norman, Oklahoma. The SPC is responsible for the nationwide severe storm forecasting program. It produces outlooks for convective activity and issues watches for severe weather events, except hurricanes.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×
  1. Tropical Prediction Center (TPC), Miami, Florida. The TPC, formerly known as the National Hurricane Center, is responsible for tropical weather forecasts that satisfy the United States' international obligations, as well as the warnings and forecasts for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific.

Each center has a specific responsibility for a portion of the NCEP products and services suite, yet they all work together toward the common goals of saving lives, protecting property, and creating economic opportunity. Seven of the centers provide direct products to users, while two of the centers provide essential support through developing and running complex computer models of the atmosphere.

Weather Service field offices, other government agencies, and private meteorological services rely on NCEP's products. Many of the forecasts that reach the public via media outlets originate at NCEP. In addition to weather, NCEP meteorologists prepare seasonal forecasts that extend out to a year in advance.

Further details regarding NCEP can be found at:

<http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/>.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×

Figure B.1. Organizational structure of NOAA. An “*” indicates those organizations that are discussed in this report.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×
Page 77
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×
Page 78
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×
Page 79
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B National Weather Service Organization." National Research Council. 2000. From Research to Operations in Weather Satellites and Numerical Weather Prediction: Crossing the Valley of Death. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9948.
×
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This workshop report examines the capability of the forecast system to efficiently transfer weather and climate research findings into improved operational forecast capabilities. It looks in particular at the Environmental Modeling Center of the National Weather Service and environmental observational satellite programs. Using these examples, the report identifies several shortcomings in the capability to transition from research to operations. Successful transitions from R&D to operational implementation requires (1) understanding of the importance (and risks) of the transition, (2) development and maintenance of appropriate transition plans, (3) adequate resource provision, and (4) continuous feedback (in both directions) between the R&D and operational activities.

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