The many benefits of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Our team of meteorologists will occasionally refer to NOAA. It is the government agency from where many get their weather and climate information. NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA's birth dates back to 1807 when President Thomas Jefferson founded an organization called the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Its creation was to provide information to the maritime community that would allow for safe passage into American ports.

The Weather Bureau was created in 1870. It was February 9th when Ulysses S. Grant was president. A resolution he signed authorized the Secretary of War to establish a national weather service whose job it was to give weather information and storm warnings along the Atlantic seaboard and the Great Lakes. It was needed because a storm in the Great Lakes in the late 1860s claimed lives and ships. It would move from being overseen by the Army's Signal Service to the USDA, then the Dept. of Commerce in 1940.

The U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries was born one year later to study and preserve the country's fisheries.

Together the three were designed to provide needed information about the atmosphere. The creation of this trio was necessary as they were also tasked with protecting life and property. It would be around 100 years before the three were combined into the governing agency we know today as NOAA. That happened on October 3, 1970.

It is funded by Congress.

For many, NOAA is the agency that provides daily weather forecasts. Their predictions include the day's highs, lows, sky conditions, rain potential, wind forecasts, and humidity, among other things.

In addition to the daily forecasts are the agencies within NOAA that provide critical information during severe weather. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center is the agency issuing Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches. These are issued in advance of severe weather. The Warnings for these weather situations are issued by the local National Weather Service office, for us, in New Braunfels.

NOAA's National Hurricane Center provides updates on tropical storms and hurricanes. The NHC tells us what a tropical weather system is doing, where it is potentially headed, predicted landfall, and potential devastating effects. Its work is vital during tropical seasons, especially in 2024 with land-falling hurricanes Helene and Milton. There is no telling how many lives were saved with NOAA providing these updates.

These people, and more like them, stay vigilant 24-7 as their #1 priority is the same for them as it is for us. We want to keep you safe.

They also provide information on the climate. Remember, climate and weather are different. Climate is the weather over a long period of time in a selected area. Weather simply refers to the short-term condition of our atmosphere.

Their work also includes forecasting changes, and sharing said changes, about our oceans. What happens in our oceans can affect what happens over land. NOAA helps manage observations for the coast, the oceans and Great Lakes areas. The oceans provide Earth's largest livable space thus accounting for their being more life than on land.

NOAAs also work with various agencies that need weather and climate information to assist with not only making human life better but to also support economic vitality. NOAA provides weather forecasts for commerce and industry in part of shipping and ground transportation reasons.

According to NOAA, its work in providing daily outlooks, analysis and prognostications about the climate, its support of sea commerce, and the multitude of products it provides affects a part of this country's gross domestic product.

So, who benefits from this important government agency? Citizens, emergency managers, business and industry officials and other decision-makers benefit from the work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In other words, we all do.