Our Stories - National Weather Service Heritage
Content with Time Periods Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today) .
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990), ESSA to NOAA and Environmental Focus (1965-1980), Post-War Expansion (1945-1960)Then and Now: The National Hurricane Center
Officially founded in 1955, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has been in existence for almost 70 years. Read its storied history here. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Remembering the “Perfect Storm”
Over Halloween 1991, conditions were right for the "perfect storm," an unprecedented, record-breaking weather event that wreaked havoc on the New England coast. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)The Blizzard of ‘96 In Retrospect
Past and present NWS employees reflect on their experiences during the "Storm of the Century". Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Great Chicago Heat Wave of 1995
On July 12, 1995, a deadly heat wave swept through the Midwest region of the United States, impacting the Chicago area in particular. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Intense Summer 2012 Microburst Impacts Localized Area South of Washington, DC
Just one week after the Super Derecho of late June 2012 impacted millions of people across the Upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic region, an intense localized microburst impacted part of the Fredericksburg, Virginia area, around 60 miles south of Washington, D.C. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Terror in Texas: Tropical Storm Allison
Though heavy rain is a common element that can occur during the average hurricane or tropical cyclone, Tropical Storm Allison was anything but ordinary. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Long-Lived and Destructive: The June 29, 2012 Derecho
Prior to June 29, 2012, most people in the Mid Atlantic weren't familiar with the term "derecho." However, that would soon change. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Tragedy at Joplin-The EF-5 of May 22, 2011
As communities across the Southeastern US were still reeling from a busy and tragic April in 2011, an unthinkable tragedy struck again in a different part of the country about one month later. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Using Ocean Modeling to Track the Movement of Nuclear Contamination: NWS Responds to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster - Part 2
On March 12, 2011, the day after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred, NOAA and the NWS began moving swiftly to determine how to help. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Origins of NOAA’s U.S. Spring Outlook
Dive into the history of the Spring Outlook, an annual report with roots almost 30 years in the past. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Reflecting on “The Long Winter” with Barb Mayes Boustead
For Barb Mayes Boustead, the record-breaking winter storms of 2008 and 2009 brought to mind another “Long Winter”: the one penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House book series. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Using Ocean Modeling to Track Nuclear Contamination: NWS Responds to the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster - Part 1
While the mission of the NWS is focused on domestic climate and environmental efforts, catastrophic weather events happen worldwide. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990), ESSA to NOAA and Environmental Focus (1965-1980)Scratching the Surface: A Photo History of Surface Analyses at the Weather Prediction Center
Though it has operated under many different names and used many different technologies to predict weather over the years, the Weather Prediction Center has been producing surface analyses since the very beginning. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990), ESSA to NOAA and Environmental Focus (1965-1980), The Satellite Age Begins (1960-1965), Post-War Expansion (1945-1960), Weather and the War (1942-1945), Early Growth (1912-1941), The Weather Bureau Rises (1891-1912), Signal Service Years (1870-1891)The National Weather Service at 150: A Brief History
The National Weather Service celebrated its 150th Birthday on February 9, 2020. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990)The NWS Modernization and Associated Restructuring - A Retrospective (Part 2)
Implementing the NWS's Modernization was a monumental task. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Introducing AWIPS
As part of the modernized NWS, a new computer system is deployed to its field offices. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), The Satellite Age Begins (1960-1965), Post-War Expansion (1945-1960)Numerical Weather Prediction
The forecast ability of the Weather Bureau greatly increases with the introduction of computer models to simulate the trends of the atmosphere. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990)Key Advances in Weather History: Dual-Pol Radar
Radar is an essential component of modern meteorology--but how did the latest innovations come about? Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)STOP SHOUTING THE FORECAST!
Decades after teletypes were phased out, the NWS finally begins eliminating the ALL-CAPS FORMAT of its products. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990)Introducing NEXRAD
Early tests of the Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) paid dividends on May 11, 1982, when the Oklahoma City NWS office issues a number of Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings based on the test Doppler radar in Norman. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)The Great Ice Storm of 1998
After the holiday craziness settled into a bright new year, something far beyond New Year's resolutions was set into motion: a disastrous ice storm. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)The Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004: A Wake-Up Call
For many around the world, the day after Christmas is celebrated as another holiday: “Boxing Day.” On that day in 2004, however, the world was shattered by one of the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history, forever changing humankind’s perception of tsunamis. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)"Of Historic Proportions": The Superstorm of 1993
In March of 1993, a superstorm of unprecedented severity pelted the eastern United States. Remembered for its devastating tornadoes, shocking snowfall totals, destructive winds, and extreme flooding, this was a deadly storm of historic proportions. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Early Growth (1912-1941), The Weather Bureau Rises (1891-1912)The Trusty Weather Balloon
While weather instruments to measure the upper atmosphere have changed over the decades, the use of balloons to carry them aloft continues today. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), Modernization and Restructuring (1980-1990)
Weather Woodles
In order to help young children understand the weather, long-time National Weather Service employee Carolyn Willis created fuzzy, zany cartoon characters to explain complex weather phenomena: the Weather Woodles. Read More »
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Becoming a Weather-Ready Nation (Today and Beyond), Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Wireless Emergency Alerts: How Your Mobile Device Could Save Your Life!
A mid-2000s Congressional Act inspired a revolutionary development in emergency notification technology: Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). Thanks to Wireless WEAs, countless lives have been saved when they otherwise wouldn't have been. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today)Cooperative Expansion of NOAA Weather Radio
A deadly tornado in 1994 prompts a nationwide effort to expand the NOAA Weather Radio network. Read More »
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Revolutionizing Observations, Forecasts & Dissemination (1990-Today), ESSA to NOAA and Environmental Focus (1965-1980), Early Growth (1912-1941), The Weather Bureau Rises (1891-1912), Signal Service Years (1870-1891)The Many Faces of a Weather Bureau Office
The Weather Bureau sets up shop in whatever facility they can find -- not always a fancy government building, either. Read More »
