Air Force Weather Agency
Encyclopedia
Military meteorology
Military meteorology is meteorology applied to military purposes, by armed forces or other agencies. It is one of the most common fields of employment for meteorologists....
center of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. AFWA enhances the combat capability of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by delivering timely, accurate, and reliable environmental situational awareness worldwide to the Air Force, the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, joint warfighters, Unified Combatant Command
Unified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
s, the national intelligence community, and the Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
. The agency is currently headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
, near Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
The AF Weather Agency fields high quality weather equipment and training to Air Force operational weather squadrons and weather flights at locations around the world. AFWA builds a comprehensive weather database of forecast, climatological, and space weather
Space weather
Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...
products. These products and services are exploited by the U.S. Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
field commanders and decision makers for many military operations, contingency missions, and humanitarian relief efforts conducted by the United States.
Mission
The Air Force Weather Agency's mission statement is as follows:"The mission of Air Force Weather Agency is to maximize America's Power through the Exploitation of Timely, Accurate, and Relevant Weather Information; Anytime, Everywhere.
AFWA is a Field Operating Agency, reporting to United States Air Force Director of Weather, Deputy Chief of Staff Air and Space Operations (USAF/A3O-W)."
Personnel and resources
AFWA manning consists of more than 1,400 active-duty, reserve, civilian and contract personnel and is headquartered on Offutt Air Force BaseOffutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
, Neb. AFWA executes a $175 million annual budget. Weather forecasts are produced using numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction
Numerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of computer simulation in the 1950s that numerical weather predictions produced realistic...
software such as the WRF model
Weather Research and Forecasting model
The Weather Research and Forecasting model, , is a specific computer program with a dual use for forecasting and research. It was created through a partnership that includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , the National Center for Atmospheric Research , and more than 150 other...
and the Unified Model
Unified Model
The Unified Model is a Numerical Weather Prediction and climate modeling software suite originally developed by the United Kingdom Met Office, and now both used and further developed by many weather-forecasting agencies around the world...
, operating on supercomputers.
Organization
AFWA is organized into a headquarters element, consisting of staff agencies, two groups, three directorates, and five solar observatories.The 1st Weather Group
1st Weather Group
The 1st Weather Group aligns stateside weather operations with the Air Force warfighting initiative overseeing operational weather squadrons; the 15th OWS at Scott AFB, Ill.; the 25th OWS at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; and the 26th OWS at Barksdale AFB, La...
(1 WXG), with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., aligns stateside weather operations with the Air Force warfighting initiative overseeing Operational Weather Squadrons. Each of the squadrons produces forecasts for a specified area of the United States. The 15th OWS, located at Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
, Ill, is responsible for the Northern and Northeast United States; 25th OWS, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....
, Ariz., is responsible for the Western United States; and 26th OWS, located at Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base
Barksdale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-southeast of Bossier City, Louisiana.The host unit at Barksdale is the 2d Bomb Wing , the oldest Bomb Wing in the Air Force. It is assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force...
, La, is responsible for the Southern United States. The squadrons also serve as training hubs for new weather professionals - both enlisted and officers. The 1st WXG arms our weather professionals with the training and skills necessary to deliver environmental intelligence for commanders and military decision makers.
The 2nd Weather Group
2nd Weather Group
The 2nd Weather Group, located at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., delivers timely, relevant and specialized terrestrial, space and climatological global environmental intelligence to Joint warfighters, the United States Department of Defense, US Government agencies and nations allied with the United...
(2 WXG), with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., delivers timely, relevant and specialized terrestrial, space and climatological global environmental intelligence to Joint warfighters, DoD decision-makers, national agencies, and allied nations for the planning and execution of missions across the complete spectrum of military operations through the operation, sustainment and maintenance of Air Force Weather's $277M strategic center computer complex, production network, and applications. The 2nd WXG is composed of Offutt AFB's 2nd Weather Squadron
2nd Weather Squadron
The 2nd Weather Squadron , based out of Offutt Air Force Base, NE, continuously supports Joint warfighters and DoD decision-makers, including the intelligence community and space operators with accurate, relevant, timely and specialized global terrestrial and space observations, analyses, forecasts...
, 2nd Systems Operations Squadron
2nd Systems Operations Squadron
The 2d Systems Operations Squadron , based out of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, delivers reliable and timely global environmental intelligence products and services for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests through the 24 x 7 operation, sustainment and maintenance...
, the 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squdron (2 CWSS), located at Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field
Hurlburt Field is a U.S. Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation, and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command , the 1st Special Operations Wing , the...
, Florida, and the 14th Weather Squadron
14th Weather Squadron
The 14th Weather Squadron is a Geographically Separate Unit located in the Veach-Baley Federal Complex in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. It has a military applied climatology mission...
in Asheville, N.C. It also includes four solar observatories which fall under the 2nd WS: Det. 1, Learmonth, Australia; Det. 2, Sagamore Hill, Mass.; Det. 4, Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Det. 5, Palehua, Hawaii.
The Operations, Training and Evaluation Directorate (A3) provides a heads-up display of the AFWWS that strengthens AFWA’s ability to conduct weather ops and supports worldwide DoD operations. The A3 Directorate also delivers state-of-the-art technical training for the career field, oversees the development of career field training plans and computer-based tutorials on new equipment, is constructing the first formal Air Force Weather Weapon System TTP
TTP
TTP may refer to:* Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , the main Taliban militant umbrella group in Pakistan* Tenderness to palpation, a medical diagnostic such as in Trochleitis...
, and coordinates standardization and evaluation visits of AFWA units.
The Communications Directorate (A6) provides overall direction for the development of doctrine, policies and procedures, as well as professional, technical, and managerial expertise, for communication and information systems, information assurance, and information management for AFWA. They also provide communication and information policy, guidance, management, operations, software development, and maintenance of communications and computer systems and services to satisfy the centralized weather support requirements of the DoD
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and other government agencies. Directs the planning, programming, budgeting, acquisition, and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment.
The Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs Directorate (A5/A8) directs the planning, programming, budgeting, acquisition, and life cycle management for all standard weather systems and computer processing equipment. Equipping the weather force is mainly a function of the A8 directorate. They coordinate capabilities development conducted by three separate production centers and integrate them into a single Air Force Weather Weapon System.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
structure by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
rating is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Being a LEED-certified building means the facility has been designed to and reached a recognized level of implementation and continuous monitoring of their "green" programs such as energy efficiency, recycling and the use of environmentally friendly products. The new AFWA building is an example of the emphasis the Air Force is placing on responsible use of and preservation of the environment. By becoming LEED certified, the AFWA facility will do its part to accomplish the vision of the Air Force Environmental Strategic Plan - fully supporting Air Force missions with natural infrastructure assets while protecting human health and safety and the environment. Initiatives and concepts incorporated into the AFWA headquarters building are part of the reason the Air Force was recently named number one among the nation's top 10 federal government green power partners.
The agency co-sponsors COMET, the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training, with the civilian National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
.
Designations, stations and assignments
Designations
Weather Wing
14 April 1943
Army Air Forces Weather Service
1 July 1945
Air Weather Service
13 March 1946
Air Force Weather Agency
15 October 1997
Stations
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
14 April 1943
Asheville, North CarolinaAsheville, North CarolinaAsheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
3 May 1943
Langley Field, Virginia
7 January 1946
Gravelly Point, Virginia
14 June 1946
Andrews AFB, Maryland
1 December 1948
Scott AFB, Illinois
23 June 1958
Offutt AFB, Nebraska
15 October 1997
Assignments
Flight Control Command
14 April 1943
Hq, Army Air Forces
6 July 1943
Air Transport CommandAir Transport CommandAir Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
13 March 1946
Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport ServiceThe Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
(later Military Airlift CommandMilitary Airlift CommandThe Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
)
1 June 1948
Hq, United States Air ForceUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
1 April 1991
History
AFWA traces its heritage to the organization of the Meteorological Service of the United States Army Signal CorpsUnited States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. On July 1, 1937, the Secretary of War transferred responsibility for weather services to the Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
. U.S. Army surgeons began recording weather observation
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
s regularly in the early 19th century as part of the Army's medical studies. In 1870, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
directed the United States Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
to establish a weather service for the nation. Thus, the Army's first organized military weather service was established in the U.S. Army Signal Corps; however, this service waned after Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Weather Bureau, today's National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
, in 1890.
America's entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
highlighted once again the need for an organized military weather service. Today's Air Force Weather directly traces its history to the re-emergence of a meteorological section within the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1917. By the mid-1930s, the Army Air Corps was consuming the majority of the weather data the Signal Corps produced. On July 1, 1937, the Army Air Corps Weather Service, under the leadership of the Chief of the Weather Section in the Office of the Chief of the Army Air Corps, assumed responsibility for all Army weather services from the Signal Corps.
During World War II, the Army Air Forces Weather Service girdled the globe with weather stations. The thousands of newly trained weather personnel fine honed the art and science of military weather services. They armed World War II commanders with vital decision-making tools. Many of the war's critical operations were predicated upon weather forecasting.
The official lineage of AFWA began April 14, 1943, when the Army Air Forces organized and activated the Weather Wing. On May 3, 1943, the headquarters of the Weather Wing relocated from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, where it quickly established itself. On July 1, 1945, the Army Air Forces redesignated the Weather Wing the Army Air Forces Weather Service and on January 7, 1946, the service moved to Langley Field, Virginia. On March 13, 1946, it was redesignated the Air Weather Service and assigned to the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
, followed soon thereafter with a move to Gravelly Point
Gravelly Point
Gravelly Point is a park in Arlington, Virginia, United States. It is located north of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, along the George Washington Parkway, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
With the formation of the United States Air Force in 1947, Air Weather Service assumed the responsibility of worldwide weather reporting and forecasting for both the Air Force and the Army. In 1948, Air Weather Service moved to Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
, Maryland, and was assigned to the newly activated Military Air Transport Service
Military Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
, which was later redesignated Military Airlift Command
Military Airlift Command
The Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
. Air Weather Service relocated to Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville.-Overview:The base is named after Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash...
, Illinois, in 1958, where it remained for nearly four decades.
Air Force Weather, organized as the Air Weather Service from 1947 to 1991, continued to provide environmental awareness for both the Air Force and the Army. By 1991, Air Weather Service had divested itself of its major field structure and the bulk of Air Force Weather was realigned under the direct administration of the supported commands.
Air Force Weather has been essentially instrumental in the protection of life and property at home as well. Since World War II, Air Force Weather personnel have provided hurricane reconnaissance. In 1948 two Air Force weather officers issued the first tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
warning. Air Force Weather participated in the development of the nation's severe storm forecasting centers.
With its early adoption of emerging computing and communications technologies, Air Force Weather was at the fore of the Space Age
Space Age
The Space Age is a time period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik...
. In the 1960s Air Force Weather began assimilating weather data collected from meteorological satellites. At the same time, Air Force Weather, as the single agent for all of the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, began solar observation
Space weather
Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...
s and forecasting.
Air Force Weather endorsed the Information Revolution early in the 1980s with tools that provided state-of-the art computing at the lowest echelons to gather, process, and disseminate weather data. In concert with Air Force communicators, Air Force Weather constructed communications networks that enabled weather information to be disseminated around the world in moments. Today, Air Force Weather employs the Internet to rapidly disseminate weather data around the globe.
Working with the other national agencies, Air Force Weather has been instrumental in the development of modern meteorological technologies, such as the deployment of NEXRAD
NEXRAD
NEXRAD or Nexrad is a network of 159 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the United States Department of Commerce...
, the Next Generation Radar, in the 1990s. Air Force Weather continues to refine and develop forecasting models relevant for modern military operations.
In April 1991, the Office of the Director of Weather was created on the Air Staff
Air Staff
The Air Staff is one of the Department of the Air Force's two statutorily designated headquarters staffs: the other staff is the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, also known as the Secretariat. The Air Staff is headed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force . The Air Staff is primarily...
to provide policy and guidance for Air Force Weather. During the later half of the 1990s and continuing into the 21st century, Air Force Weather has re-engineered itself to better meet the demands of modern military operations.
The Air Force designated Air Weather Service a field operating agency and re-assigned it to Headquarters United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in 1991. On Oct. 15, 1997, Air Weather Service was redesignated the Air Force Weather Agency and relocated to Offutt AFB, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
.
Awards and honors
- 2000 Air Force Association Theodore Van KarmanTheodore von KarmanTheodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
Award - Air Force Organizational Excellence Award
- May 1, 1984 - Apr. 30, 1986; May 1, 1986 - Apr. 30, 1988; Sep. 1, 1993 - Sep. 30, 1995; Oct. 1, 1995 - Sep. 30, 1996; Sep. 1, 1996 - Sep. 30, 1998; Oct.1, 1998 - Sep. 30, 1999; Oct. 1, 1999 - Sep. 30, 2001; Oct. 1, 2001 - Sep. 30, 2003
- World War II American Theater Service StreamerAmerican Campaign MedalThe American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
See also
- List of United States Air Force weather squadrons
- 1st Weather Group1st Weather GroupThe 1st Weather Group aligns stateside weather operations with the Air Force warfighting initiative overseeing operational weather squadrons; the 15th OWS at Scott AFB, Ill.; the 25th OWS at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; and the 26th OWS at Barksdale AFB, La...
- 2nd Weather Group2nd Weather GroupThe 2nd Weather Group, located at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., delivers timely, relevant and specialized terrestrial, space and climatological global environmental intelligence to Joint warfighters, the United States Department of Defense, US Government agencies and nations allied with the United...
- Thomas Samuel Moorman
- Donald Norton YatesDonald Norton YatesDonald Norton Yates was the US Army Air Force officer who helped select June 6, 1944 as the date for D-Day, the Allied invasion of Europe, in his capacity as chief meteorologist on General Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff...
External links
Weather links