About Us

NWS Mission

Provide weather, water and climate data, forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy.

NWS Vision

A Weather-Ready Nation: Society is prepared for and responds to weather, water, and climate-dependent events.

Weather-Ready Nation Story

accurate weather forecasts do not always result in a good outcome. The National Weather Service (NWS) learned this difficult...[1]**Read More**

Who we are

Advances in science and technology are essential to meeting the National Weather Service mission to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Each day, the NWS is working towards integrating critical science advancements, research, technology, and innovation across the agency to help protect lives and property in your local community.

Forecasts and Services

The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. These services include Forecasts and Observations, Warnings, Impact-based Decision Support Services, and Education in an effort to build a Weather-Ready Nation. The ultimate goal is to have a society that is prepared for and responds to weather, water and climate events.

With 122 Weather Forecast Offices, 13 River Forecast Centers, nine National Centers, and other support offices, the NWS collects and analyzes more than 6.3 billion observations per day and releases about 1.5 million forecasts and 50,000 warnings each year. Forecasters build their forecasts with observations from surface stations, weather balloon readings and satellite data that feed numerical weather, water and climate models whose output is analyzed and scrutinized using individual scientific expertise. Forecasters communicate this information and potential impacts to the public, emergency managers, and other core partners to help make decisions that save lives and protect property.

NWS forecasts, warnings, and data and products form a national information database and infrastructure used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community. This enables our core partners to make decisions when weather, water or climate has a direct impact on the protection of lives and livelihoods. NWS forecasts and warnings are provided directly to decision makers in local communities, as well as at state and Federal levels, to protect lives and property in your neighborhood and community. Learn more about the services provided by your National Weather Service at the links on the right.

Science and Technology

Advances in science and technology are essential to meeting the National Weather Service (NWS) mission to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. Each day, the NWS is working towards integrating critical science advancements, research, technology, and innovation across the agency to help protect lives and property in your local community.

The NWS engages in various types of collaborative and applied research and development activities within the agency, as well as in coordination with NOAA line offices and the research community with the goal of incorporating innovation and research into operations. This enables the agency to improve on operational atmospheric, ocean, land, sea ice, hydrologic, and other components of environmental prediction models, operational guidance and decision support tools, improved radar and satellite products, and social science integration. It also identifies new techniques in response to and in support of evolving demands of hazardous weather affecting our nation.

Science and technology innovations are being done at all levels within the NWS. Field-driven innovation and research-to-operations also integrates new or improved science and technology into field operations in areas such as aviation weather, lightning, fire weather, and climate. Some examples of advances as a result of improved science and technology include improving guidance for hurricane track, intensity, and storm surge forecasts; developing an end-to-end air quality forecast capability; advancing research to extend forecast skill beyond 8-10 days; and implementing a weather-scale, fully-coupled numerical weather prediction system. These advances end up directly in the hands of the forecasters providing day-to-day life saving forecast and warning information directly to the public.

With the implementation of new and enhanced operational capacities that improve upon NWS warning and forecast processes, collaborative decision making, risk communication, and impact-based decision support services, the NWS capitalizes on the advancements in science and technology to move closer to building a Weather-Ready Nation. Follow the links below to learn about some of the science and technology that are being used in your community.

NWS Partners

The National Weather Service (NWS) is an organization that relies heavily on science, partnerships, and ties to local communities to successfully provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. The NWS works with many partners, including those from national and local government, members of the weather enterprise, Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors, and Academia to help educate people in all communities on how to stay safe and ensure important weather information, such as warnings, reach the broadest possible audience.

NWS Offices provide forecast information in a way that better supports how emergency managers, first responders, government officials, businesses, and the public are able to make fast, smart decisions to save lives, property, and enhance livelihoods. This helps mitigate the devastating impacts of extreme events like record breaking snowfall, violent tornadoes, destructive hurricanes, widespread flooding, and devastating drought. We are able to do this through our professional expertise, securing new data, and investigating technologies that will improve forecasts and ultimately increase weather-readiness. While we at NOAA’s National Weather Service are taking steps towards building a Weather-Ready Nation, we cannot do it alone! Please read further to learn more about how we work with our partners to build a Weather-Ready Nation.