National implementation plan for the modernization and associated restructuring of the National Weather Service: Fiscal Year 1992 Annual Update

Until now, the operations of the National Weather Service (NWS) have focused on more slowly changing, larger-scale features of the atmosphere. The impetus for major changes in NWS are twofold. First, the existing technological base for weather observations, information processing and communication is obsolete and highly costly to maintain. Second, new scientific and technological breakthroughs provide, for the first time, the opportunity to analyze and predict the most destructive weather patterns — a clear mandate for substantial service improvements.