The U.S. Government National Weather Service is a vital part of the partnership between the private, institutional and public sectors that, in the words of General Jack Kelly, "make the U.S. weather system of public and private cooperation the best in the world." The NWS's role has changed considerably since the emergence of the private sector weather industry in the wake of World War II. At one time, the National Weather Service was the nation's only civilian weather source. Government agencies were then the only ones that had the tools to collect the observations, move the data, assemble the information, and develop and issue forecasts. Because of this, the government weather service had to issue all kinds of specialized forecasts and provide specialized services, or they would not exist. At one time, the NWS provided routine radio and television broadcasts, but they no longer do this. In 1991, the NWS published, in the Federal Register, its Public-Private Partnership Policy, which established its view of the roles of the public and private weather sectors.

The NWS today is responsible for the basic weather infrastructure, including the collection of weather data, running the primary computer models and issuing official government severe weather warnings. They are also involved in a number of other initiatives, which directly impact their ability to successfully fulfill their role in providing the basic infrastructure.

This presentation will review and discuss some of these issues, and review what is needed from the NWS.