As long as humans have grown food and engaged in warfare, we've tried to forecast the weather—but none have done it better than The National Weather Service (NWS). Officially founded 150 years ago, on February 9. 1870, the NWS, then known as the Weather Bureau, was the U.S.'s first formal effort to forecast the weather. Back then, the Bureau relied heavily on telegraph and eyewitness accounts but evolved over the decades by deploying radar, rockets, satellites, and supercomputers. Today, the NWS monitors hurricanes, watches wildfires, and spies on tornadoes across the country all while trying to provide the most accurate weekly forecast possible.
The National Weather Service's history is one of incredible innovation, and these are the momentous inventions that helped form one of the world's most vital weather services.
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