The National Weather Center is a unique confederation of federal, state, and University of Oklahoma organizations that work together in partnership to improve understanding of events occurring in Earth's atmosphere over a wide range of time and space scales. The NWC partners give equal attention to applying that understanding to the development of improved observation, analysis, assimilation, display, and prediction systems. Long recognized for its collective expertise in severe weather, the National Weather Center also has expertise in local and regional climate, numerical modeling, hydrology, and radar meteorology. Members of the NWC work with a wide range of federal, state, and local government agencies to help reduce loss of life and property to hazardous weather, ensure wise use of water resources, enhance agricultural production, and develop renewable energy sources. They also work with private sector partners, many located on the University of Oklahoma Research Campus, to develop new applications of weather and regional climate information that provide competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The 244,000-square-foot National Weather Center – the largest center of its kind in the world – is administered by the OU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and houses the university's School of Meteorology, Center of Analysis and Prediction of Storms, Center for Spatial Analysis, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, and Center for Natural Hazards and Disaster Research. The NOAA organizations include the National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Weather Service Forecast Office, NEXRAD Radar Operations Center, Storm Prediction Center, and Warning Decision Training Branch. Currently, the National Weather Center organizations employ over 650 men and women and inject about $45 million annually into the State of Oklahoma's economy.