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Ode to the NWS
10/25/2002
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. Today's commentator, David Laskin, shares some
deep feelings.
I'd wager that with the exception of the IRS and possibly the Postal Service, no government
agency has been more reviled, ridiculed and second-guessed than the National Weather Service.
But not by me. In fact, I love the National Weather Service. I love their web site, I love the
robotic drone of their weather radio announcer, I love their crazy acronyms and their
spine-tingling bold face special weather statements. Most of all I love the monomaniacal zeal
of the people who work there. What other civil servants dash happily off to work when
blizzards and tornadoes are imminent? In fact you couldn't pay most of them to go home when
the atmosphere really throws a tantrum. The official NWS mission is to provide forecasts and
warnings "for the protection of life and property." But what it's really about is a high-tech
playground for the nation's leading weather geeks.
I have to confess that part of my admiration is pure gratitude. When I first started writing
about weather, I was your average weather nut encased in a thick shell of ignorance. Thanks to
long-suffering NWS staffers around the country, I've been able to put at least a few cracks in
that shell - and fake the rest. From the jet stream to the Gulf Stream, NWS forecasters and
researchers have cheerfully provided me with a free survey of the basics of meteorology.
No, they don't always get the forecast exactly right, and yes, they hate it when you bring
that up. But for my money, the National Weather Service is the best thing that ever happened
to the federal government.
The Weather Notebook is supported by Subaru, and The National Science Foundation.
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