NOAA/NWS/ NWS Observations
Investment ID: 006-000313100
Overview
Program Title
NOAA/NWS/ NWS Observations
Description
The Office of Observations (OBS) serves as the primary office responsible for the collection of space, atmosphere, water, and climate observational data owned or leveraged by NWS.
Type of Program
Non-major IT Investments
Multi-Agency Category
Not Applicable
Associated Websites
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/, www.ndbc.noaa.gov, www.roc.noaa.gov, www.roc.noaa.gov, www.weather.gov\NL2
Shared Services
Investment Detail
Observations supports numerous benefits to the government, as well as the nation with a high return on investment. Observations systems data is vital to many sectors of the economy including the public media, tourism, agriculture, transportation and energy production. Observations systems underpin NOAA/National Weather Service s forecast and warning services for high-impact events critical for the protection of life and property. The IT portion of this investment is small in dollars (~10%) relative to total investment. However, the algorithms and databases funded by the Office deliver and translate thousands of daily raw observations into data sets for the forecasting and warning mission of the NWS. For example, a median valuation of weather forecasts per household is $286 per year, which suggests that the aggregate annual valuation of weather forecasts is about $31.5 billion per year.