Date: Oct. 12, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Weather Service's Modernization Successful in Improving Science, Forecasts
The modernization and associated restructuring of the National Weather Service developed five major technologies to modernize its operations, costing approximately $4.5 billion. The committee that wrote the report said that this investment was both needed and generally well-spent. The implemented technologies were:
Overall, the modernization significantly increased the amount of data and information available to field forecasters, academia, the private sector, and the general public. It also improved outreach and coordination with state and local government, emergency management, and communities; provided for more uniform radar coverage and surface observations across the
The budget, schedule, and technological issues encountered during the modernization reflected traditional challenges of large projects, such as shifting budget constraints and ambitious technology leaps, the committee found. For example, during the early stages, there was insufficient communication between the organization's management at the national level and the field office managers and their staff. However, the framework left in place allows and encourages the technology and work-force composition to continue to evolve.
The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering,
Contacts:
Jennifer Walsh, Media Relations Officer
Shaquanna Shields, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
Pre-publication copies of The National Weather Service Modernization and Associated Restructuring: A Retrospective Assessment are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
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NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Committee on the Assessment of the National Weather Service's Modernization Program
John A. Armstrong (chair)1
Vice President for Science and Technology
International Business Machines Corp. (retired)
James D. Doyle
Head
Mesoscale Modeling Section
Naval Research Laboratory
Pamela Emch
Senior Staff Engineer and Scientist
Northrup Grumman Aerospace Systems
William B. Gail
Director
Startup Business Group
Microsoft Corp.
David J. Gochis
Research Scientist-II
Hoshin V. Gupta
Professor of Systems Analysis and Hydrology and Water Resources
Director
Arid
Kevin A. Kloesel
Associate Dean of Public Service and Outreach
College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences
Nicholas Lampson
Former U.S. Congressman
John Madden
Director
Gordon A. McBean
Chair for Policy
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, and
Professor
Departments of Geography and Political Science
David J. McLaughlin
Interim Dean
Adrian
Blumstein-Jordan Professor of Statistics and Sociology
James Rasmussen
Director
Environmental Research Laboratories
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (retired)
John Toohey-Morales
Chief Meteorologist
WTVJ NBC-6, and
Founder and President
ClimaData Corp.
Paul L. Smith Jr.
Professor Emeritus
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences
STAFF
Maggie Walser
Study Director