The National Weather Service at 150: The Legacy Projects

As the American Meteorological Society enters its Centennial year, so does the National Weather Service enter its 150th. The history and legacy of the National Weather Service, from its beginnings as part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps through today, is a story of science and service to save lives, protect property, and enhance the national economy. Our history as a nation is marked by terrible losses resulting from weather, water and climate events; events that scientists have endeavored to understand, and to mitigate for. On the flip side, many of the nation’s -- indeed the world’s -- most important advances were made possible through parallel advances in meteorology, numerical computer modeling, and other scientific firsts.

Much has been written about the history of the NWS and its predecessors. But less has been written about the more recent history of the NWS including the ground-breaking Modernization and Associated Restructuring (MAR) effort of the 1980s and 1990s -- an effort that led to even greater breakthroughs in science and service in the years since. In addition, new information continues to emerge about the agency's history, challenging assumptions and raising questions that must be explored.

Within this context, the NWS finds it critical to capture and document that recent history -- to learn from the agency’s successes over the last three decades, as well as its mistakes -- now and for future generations. The agency is embarking on a series of Legacy projects to re-engage and invigorate the agency’s approach to preserving its heritage as it prepares to celebrate its 150th anniversary. These projects will jump start the agency's approach to collecting, preserving, documenting, and sharing the artifacts, documents, research, and personal stories that, collectively, comprise the agency’s history.

This presentation will provide insight into these approaches, and most importantly, how AMS members and friends can contribute to the projects and the agency’s storied history.