The Federal plan for meteorological services and supporting research fiscal year 1974

This Federal Plan is the ninth in an annual series developed by the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research in response to Section 304 of Public Law 87-843. This Plan focuses on the provision of meteorological services that will contribute to the public health, safety, and welfare and to the effective use of the environment. The highest priority is being given to additional efforts needed to observe, predict, and provide warnings on severe storms, such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Concurrently, ways and means of providing quality services through reprogramming of funds from lower priority efforts have been identified. New funding is being requested primarily to apply modern technology to maintain or improve services in the face of reductions in manpower. Recent technological advances involving computers, satellites, ocean buoys, automation of weather stations, remote sensing, and automated data handling techniques, highlighted in the first section, will make this possible.