When it’s time to make plans based on the weather, everyone from TV meteorologists to local school officials relies on predictions from scientists in College Park.
Since 2012, every forecast in the lower 48 states has started at the NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction located at 5830 University Research Ct. in the Discovery District research park.
The weather prediction center is home to more than 825 meteorologists, scientists and analysts who comb over data from satellites and use sophisticated computer models to make their forecasts.
Focusing on the short term, the Weather Prediction Center tracks major storms that aren’t hurricanes — which are handled in Miami — and makes seven-day forecasts for rain and snow. The Climate Prediction Center, meantime, puts together one-month and three-month forecasts.
As with other NOAA facilities, the centers started out providing guidance for government agencies and their partners, but as general interest in the weather has grown, they’ve become more of a household name, cited frequently in the news and available directly to the public online.
They’re now regularly cited when it comes time to predict voter turnout, give advice on coping with a heat wave or debate the definition of a Nor’easter.
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