Air Force Weather Agency The Air Force Weather Agency ( AFWA ) is a Field Operating Agency ( FOA ) and the lead military meteorology center of the United States Air Force . AFWA enhances the combat capability of the United States by delivering timely , accurate , and reliable environmental situational awareness worldwide to the Air Force , the Army , joint warfighters , Unified Combatant Command s , the national intelligence community , and the Secretary of Defense . The agency is currently headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base , near Omaha , Nebraska . The AF Weather Agency fields high quality weather equipment and training to Air Force operational weather squadrons and weather flights at locations around the world . AFWA builds a comprehensive weather database of forecast , climatological , and space weather products . These products and services are exploited by the United States Department of Defense ( DoD ) field commanders and decision makers for many military operations , contingency missions , and humanitarian relief efforts conducted by the United States . Mission . The Air Force Weather Agency ' s mission statement is as follows : " The mission of Air Force Weather Agency is to maximize America ' s Power through the Exploitation of Timely , Accurate , and Relevant Weather Information ; Anytime , Everywhere . AFWA is a Field Operating Agency , reporting to United States Air Force Director of Weather , Deputy Chief of Staff Air and Space Operations ( USAF / A3O - W ) . " Personnel and resources . AFWA manning consists of more than 1 , 400 active - duty , reserve , civilian and contract personnel and is headquartered on Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska . AFWA executes a $ 175 million annual budget . Weather forecasts are produced using numerical weather prediction software such as the WRF model and the Unified Model , operating on supercomputers . Organization . AFWA is organized into a headquarters element , consisting of staff agencies , two groups , three directorates , and five solar observatories . The 1st Weather Group ( 1 WXG ) , with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base , aligns stateside weather operations with the Air Force warfighting initiative overseeing Operational Weather Squadrons . Each of the squadrons produces forecasts for a specified area of the United States . The 15th OWS , located at Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , is responsible for the Northern and Northeast United States ; 25th OWS , located at Davis - Monthan Air Force Base , Arizona , is responsible for the Western United States ; and 26th OWS , located at Barksdale Air Force Base , Louisiana , is responsible for the Southern United States . The squadrons also serve as training hubs for new weather professionals — both enlisted and officers . The 1st WXG equips U . S . weather professionals with the training and skills necessary to deliver environmental information for commanders and military decision makers . The 2nd Weather Group ( 2 WXG ) , with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base , delivers timely , relevant and specialized terrestrial , space and climatological global weather information to Joint combatants , Department of Defense decision - makers , national agencies , and allied nations for the planning and execution of missions across the complete spectrum of military operations through the operation , sustainment and maintenance of Air Force Weather ' s US $ 277 million strategic center computer complex , production network , and applications . The 2nd WXG is composed of Offutt Air Force Base ' s 2nd Weather Squadron , 2nd Systems Operations Squadron , the 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron ( 2 CWSS ) , located at Hurlburt Field , Florida , and the 14th Weather Squadron in Asheville , North Carolina . It also includes four solar observatories that fall under the 2nd WS : Det . 1 , Learmonth , Australia ; Det . 2 , Sagamore Hill , Massachusetts ; Det . 4 , Holloman AFB , New Mexico ; and Det . 5 , Palehua , Hawaii . The Operations , Training and Evaluation Directorate ( A3 ) provides a heads - up display of the Air Force Weather Weapon System that strengthens AFWA ’ s ability to conduct weather ops and supports worldwide DoD operations . The A3 Directorate also delivers state - of - the - art technical training for the career field , oversees the development of career field training plans and computer - based tutorials on new equipment , is constructing the first formal AFWWS Technical Training Program , and coordinates standardization and evaluation visits of AFWA units . The Communications Directorate ( A6 ) provides overall direction for the development of doctrine , policies and procedures , as well as professional , technical , and managerial expertise , for communication and information systems , information assurance , and information management for AFWA . They also provide communication and information policy , guidance , management , operations , software development , and maintenance of communications and computer systems and services to satisfy the centralized weather support requirements of the DoD and other government agencies . Directs the planning , programming , budgeting , acquisition , and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment . The Strategic Plans , Requirements and Programs Directorate ( A5 / A8 ) directs the planning , programming , budgeting , acquisition , and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment . Equipping the weather force is mainly a function of the A8 directorate . They coordinate capabilities development conducted by three separate production centers and integrate them into a single Air Force Weather Weapon System . The Lt . Gen . Thomas Samuel Moorman Building , valued at US $ 26 . 7 million , is the Headquarters for the Air Force Weather Agency , with a total of . The three - story building , designed to support 1 , 100 people , and was scheduled to become fully operational by 2011 as the AFWA staff relocated in increments . The new facility is a " Gold Certified " Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) structure by the U . S . Green Building Council . The LEED rating is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design , construction and operation of green buildings . Being a LEED - certified building means the facility has been designed to and reached a recognized level of implementation and continuous monitoring of their " green " programs such as energy efficiency , recycling and the use of environmentally friendly products . The new AFWA building is an example of the emphasis the Air Force is placing on responsible use of and preservation of the environment . By becoming LEED certified , the AFWA facility will do its part to accomplish the vision of the Air Force Environmental Strategic Plan — fully supporting Air Force missions with natural infrastructure assets while protecting human health and safety and the environment . Initiatives and concepts incorporated into the AFWA headquarters building are part of the reason the Air Force was recently named number one among the nation ' s top 10 federal government green power partners . The agency co - sponsors COMET , the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology , Education and Training , with the civilian National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Designations , stations and assignments . Designations Weather Wing 14 April 1943 Army Air Force s Weather Service 1 July 1945 Air Weather Service 13 March 1946 Air Force Weather Agency 15 October 1997 Stations Washington , D . C . 14 April 1943 Asheville , North Carolina 3 May 1943 Langley Field , Virginia 7 January 1946 Gravelly Point , Virginia 14 June 1946 Andrews AFB , Maryland 1 December 1948 Scott AFB , Illinois 23 June 1958 Offutt AFB , Nebraska 15 October 1997 Assignments Flight Control Command 14 April 1943 Hq , Army Air Forces 6 July 1943 Air Transport Command 13 March 1946 Military Air Transport Service 1 June 1948 Hq , United States Air Force 1 April 1991 History . AFWA traces its heritage to the organization of the Meteorological Service of the United States Army Signal Corps during World War I . On 1 July 1937 , the Secretary of War transferred responsibility for weather services to the Army Air Corps . United States Army surgeons began recording weather observation s regularly in the early 19th century as part of the Army ' s medical studies . In 1870 , the United States Congress directed the United States Secretary of War to establish a weather service for the nation . Thus , the Army ' s first organized military weather service was established in the U . S . Army Signal Corps ; however , this service waned after Congress authorized the creation of the U . S . Weather Bureau , today ' s National Weather Service , in 1890 . America ' s entry into World War I highlighted once again the need for an organized military weather service . Today ' s Air Force Weather Agency directly traces its history to the re - emergence of a meteorological section within the U . S . Army Signal Corps in 1917 . By the mid - 1930s , the Army Air Corps was consuming the majority of the weather data the Signal Corps produced . On 1 July 1937 , the Army Air Corps Weather Service , under the leadership of the Chief of the Weather Section in the Office of the Chief of the Army Air Corps , assumed responsibility for all Army weather services from the Signal Corps . During World War II , the Army Air Forces Weather Service girdled the globe with weather stations . The thousands of newly trained weather personnel fine honed the art and science of military weather services . They armed World War II commanders with vital decision - making tools . Many of the war ' s critical operations were predicated upon weather forecasting . The official lineage of AFWA began 14 April 1943 , when the Army Air Forces organized and activated the Weather Wing . On 3 May 1943 , the headquarters of the Weather Wing relocated from Washington , D . C . , to Asheville , North Carolina , where it quickly established itself . On 1 July 1945 , the Army Air Forces redesignated the Weather Wing the Army Air Forces Weather Service and on 7 January 1946 , the service moved to Langley Field , Virginia . On 13 March 1946 , it was redesignated the Air Weather Service and assigned to the Air Transport Command , followed soon thereafter with a move to Gravelly Point , Virginia . With the formation of the United States Air Force in 1947 , Air Weather Service assumed the responsibility of worldwide weather reporting and forecasting for both the Air Force and the Army . In 1948 , Air Weather Service moved to Andrews Air Force Base , Maryland , and was assigned to the newly activated Military Air Transport Service , which was later redesignated Military Airlift Command . Air Weather Service relocated to Scott Air Force Base , Illinois , in 1958 , where it remained for nearly four decades . Air Force Weather , organized as the Air Weather Service from 1947 to 1991 , continued to provide environmental awareness for both the Air Force and the Army . By 1991 , Air Weather Service had divested itself of its major field structure and the bulk of Air Force Weather was realigned under the direct administration of the supported commands . Air Force Weather Agency and its predecessors has been essentially instrumental in the protection of life and property at home as well . Since World War II , Air Force weather personnel have provided hurricane reconnaissance . In 1948 two Air Force weather officers issued the first tornado warning . Air Force Weather participated in the development of the nation ' s severe storm forecasting centers . With its early adoption of emerging computing and communications technologies , Air Force Weather was at the fore of the Space Age . In the 1960s Air Force Weather began assimilating weather data collected from meteorological satellites . At the same time , Air Force Weather , as the single agent for all of DoD , began solar observation s and forecasting . Air Force Weather endorsed the Information Revolution early in the 1980s with tools that provided state - of - the art computing at the lowest echelons to gather , process , and disseminate weather data . In concert with Air Force communicators , Air Force Weather constructed communications networks that enabled weather information to be disseminated around the world in moments . Today , the Air Force Weather Agency , through its Weather Product Management and Distribution System at Offutt AFB , employs the internet to rapidly disseminate weather data around the globe . Working with the other national agencies , Air Force Weather has been instrumental in the development of modern meteorological technologies , such as the deployment of NEXRAD , the Next Generation Radar , in the 1990s . Air Force Weather continues to refine and develop forecasting models relevant for modern military operations . In April 1991 , the Office of the Director of Weather was created on the Air Staff to provide policy and guidance for Air Force Weather . During the latter half of the 1990s and continuing into the 21st century , Air Force Weather was reorganized to better meet the demands of modern military operations . The Air Force designated Air Weather Service a field operating agency and reassigned it to Headquarters United States Air Force in 1991 . On 15 Oct . 1997 , Air Weather Service was redesignated the Air Force Weather Agency and relocated to Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska .