November 15, 2002 — NOAA officials and representatives from the University of Oklahoma recently broke ground for the National Weather Center, a new building in Norman, Okla., that will be one of the largest research centers in the world and the premier facility for severe storm research, prediction, forecasting and warning. James R. Mahoney, assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA deputy administrator, OU President David Boren, Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, Sen. Don Nickles and Rep. Ernest J. Istook Jr., and other officials attended a recent ceremony on the site where the building will stand. The 244,000-square-foot building, which is scheduled to open in 2006, will combine the five NOAA organizations in Norman, with several key weather organizations at the university. The estimated total cost of the building is $67 million, with NOAA’s portion estimated to be approximately half that. The unique world-class weather center provides an opportunity to strengthen and extend the existing partnership between NOAA and the university," Mahoney said. "The new building will increase collaboration and communication for the weather forecasters and researchers engaged in complimentary efforts toward better forecasts and warnings of severe and hazardous weather."

NOAA Weather Partners
The five NOAA organizations to be located in the building, known as the NOAA Weather Partners, are the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the Storm Prediction Center, the Norman Weather Forecast Office, the Warning Decision Training Branch and the Radar Operations Center’s Application Branch. A total of approximately 263 NOAA staff will occupy 124,000 square feet of the building.

• NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory leads the way in investigations of all aspects of severe and hazardous weather. NSSL is part of NOAA Research and is the only federally-supported laboratory focused on severe weather. The lab’s scientists and staff explore new ways to improve understanding of the causes of severe weather and ways to use weather information to assist NOAA National Weather Service forecasters, as well as federal, university and private sector partners. NSSL was established in 1964 and has additional staff in Colorado, Nevada, Washington and Wisconsin.
• NOAA Storm Prediction Center issues forecasts and watches for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the contiguous United States. The SPC also monitors heavy rain, heavy snow and fire weather events across the United States and issues specific national products for those hazards. Part of the NWS’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction, SPC meteorologists are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Established in Washington, D.C., in 1952, the center moved to Kansas City, Mo., in 1954 and then Norman in 1997. It is now collocated with NSSL.
• NOAA National Weather Service Norman Forecast Office prepares and disseminates life-saving warnings, watches and advisories for all types of hazardous weather conditions affecting 48 counties in central, western and southern Oklahoma and eight counties in western north Texas. In addition to providing services to protect life and property, the office also produces a wide variety of forecasts, and collects and disseminates climatological and hydrologic data and observations. The office is part of the Southern Region of the NWS. Meteorologists are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The office was established in Oklahoma City in 1890 and moved to Norman in 1987.
• NOAA NEXRAD Radar Operations Center provides centralized meteorological, computer software, maintenance and engineering support for all 158 NEXRAD (WSR-88D) radar systems deployed worldwide. Supported by the Departments of Commerce, Transportation and Defense, the ROC is responsible for modifying and enhancing the WSR-88D systems during their operational life to meet changing requirements, technology advances and improved understanding of the application of these systems to real-time weather operations. The ROC also operates WSR-88D test systems for the development of hardware and software upgrades to enhance maintenance, operation and provide new functionality. The facility houses a 24-hour, seven days a week help desk that assists radar sites with technical support more than 12,000 times each year. The ROC was established in 1987.
• NOAA Warning Decision Training Branch develops and delivers training on the integrated elements of the warning process within a NWS forecast office. Part of the NWS Training Division, the WDTB training activities provide basic and advanced WSR-88D operator proficiency, with an emphasis on the integrated data environment, warning methodology and situation awareness. The WDTB’s goal is to increase expertise among NWS personnel in order to better serve the public in warning situations. The WDTB was established in 1989.

“The one-of-a-kind weather center will bring research and operations under one roof in support of NOAA’s strategic goal of improving short-range forecasts and warnings,” Mahoney said. “In addition, consolidation will leverage personnel and facilities resources, create synergy and shorten the time for bringing research advancements into operations.”

The University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma organizations to be located in the building include the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, School of Meteorology, Oklahoma Climatological Survey and Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms.

New National Weather Center Building
After more than a decade of planning and design, the weather facility designed to facilitate interactions between researchers and operational staff is nearing construction. Architects designing the building are at the 50 percent review stage, and construction is expected to begin in June 2003.

"This is an exciting milestone to have completed,” said Doug Forsyth, program manager for the NOAA portion of the National Weather Center who has looked forward to this event for 12 years. “Getting to this point has been a real team effort.” The new building solves urgent facilities problems and provides an opportunity to bring NOAA’s staff into improved facilities, Mahoney added. Features include a 250 person seminar room, cafeteria, expanded library, cooperative research forecast area, media room, improved development labs and mobile observation facility. It will also have a rooftop experimental deck and an enclosed weather observation deck. The building will have an exterior facade of face brick, architectural cast stone, metal-faced composite panels and glass curtain walls.

Mahoney said the new facility further solidifies the importance of Norman to the worldwide weather community. “I want to say a special congratulations to the emerging meteorological capital of the nation. As far as I’m concerned, the program is already here,” Mahoney said. “The strength of the university, the strength of NOAA and all of its various lines here ... represents a tremendous core capability for the country.” The NOAA Weather Partners are united in their focus on severe weather. Collocation in Norman invigorates collaborations that lead to a rapid transfer of knowledge from research into technology, training and improved forecasts and warnings nationwide. Combined, the five partners employ nearly 400 people and have total annual expenditures of close to $50 million.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA and University of Oklahoma break ground at new National Weather Center site

James R. Mahoney, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Deputy Administrator

NOAA Weather Partners

NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory

NOAA Research

NOAA National Weather Service

NOAA Storm Prediction Center

National Centers for Environmental Prediction

NOAA National Weather Service Norman Forecast Office

Climate-At-A-Glance

NOAA NEXRAD Radar Operations Center

NEXRAD (WSR-88D) radar systems

NOAA Warning Decision Training Branch

National Weather Center Architects' Model

Media Contact:
Keli Tarp, NOAA Weather Partners , Norman, Okla., (405) 366-0451