Efficiencies Available through Improved Operations of National Weather Service Offices

Gao ID: CED-77-41 March 9, 1977

A survey was conducted of the activities of the National Weather Service (NWS), with particular attention paid to local weather forecasts, routine weather briefings provided to general aviation pilots, and operation of weather observation stations.

About 170 of the 209 Weather Service Offices issue local forecasts for their immediate areas which are adaptations of larger zone forecasts and cover the same time period. The need for local weather forecasts in certain areas is questionable. If local forecasts were discontinued except in the Western Region, about $2 million could be saved annually. Both the NWS and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provide route weather briefings for general aviation pilots. As much as $3.3 million of NWS staff resources could be made available for other purposes if this duplication in services were removed. The NWS substation network needs improvement; a comprehensive evaluation is needed of the climatology and hydrology substation networks.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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