Transforming the National Weather Service to Build Weather-Ready Communities

Over a decade has passed since the National Weather Service (NWS) released its Weather-Ready Nation Roadmap and accompanying strategies to help build community resilience in the face of growing threats posed by extreme weather and water events. In the years since, the frequency of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters has surged, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities and underscoring the urgent need for the NWS to adapt to meet society’s evolving needs.

To ensure every community in our nation is weather-ready now and in the future, the NWS must transform. This transformation will focus on the last critical mile of service, delivering tailored, impact-based decision-support services that appropriately address societal demographics and the unique vulnerabilities of each community. Achieving this transformation will require a new operating model; one that fosters a more mobile, nimble, and flexible agency.

Last updated in the 1990s, the NWS Operating Model coordinates how our people, policies, and technology work together to provide products and services to the nation. Today, the NWS is building a new Operating Model that will transform our workforce, infrastructure, and future readiness. This model will reshape how our people do their jobs, placing experts where decision-makers need them most. It will also modernize the infrastructure that supports operations, enhancing technology, tools, and organizational principles to foster greater flexibility and mobility in how and where we work. Furthermore, this model will ensure we are prepared for the future, allowing us to continuously adapt to technological advancements and the evolving needs of society, our partners, and our workforce. Embracing this transformation is crucial for the NWS to become a more mobile, nimble, and flexible agency, ready to meet the demands of a changing world and continue safeguarding lives and property.

This presentation will provide an in-depth look at NWS Transformation, examining why global change necessitates transformation and exploring how people, infrastructure, and future readiness will shape our next Operating Model. It will highlight some of the most impactful initiatives already paving the way for change and illustrate how this transformation will be strengthened by contributions and emerging opportunities across the entire weather, water, and climate enterprise.