WPO’s four strategic goals for 2022–2026 are a collection of interdependent research strategies that advance weather information, forecasts, products, and services for NOAA and the Nation. Goals one and four detail the foundational aspects needed to accomplish WPO’s mission and vision, including workforce development, funding strategies, and research infrastructure. Goals two and three describe specific forecast and service improvements envisioned across the weather value chain.

Foundational to the achievement of our bold strategic goals and objectives are the multitude of research partners with whom we collaborate. This includes OAR Laboratories and Program Offices, other federal agencies, academia, non-governmental organizations, and industry. Specific areas where WPO intends to build or strengthen these essential partnerships are woven throughout this plan. In particular, we recommit to our strong relationship with the National Weather Service (NWS) to continue to advance operations to research (O2R) and research to operations (R2O) transitions. 

WPO leadership interviewed over 50 internal and external stakeholders and evaluated numerous background sources in the development of this plan. The Weather Research Forecasting Innovation Act 2017 and its reauthorization in 2019 continue to serve as foundational legislation for our office and guide our overall strategy. We have also incorporated 25 of the 33 recommendations from the congressionally-requested Priorities for Weather Research (PWR) Report published in December 2021 by the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) into this plan, and we continue to align with the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research’s (OAR) Strategic Implementation Plan, which contains a straightforward but complex goal to “Make Forecasts Better.”

Thank you for your interest in learning more about our 2022–2026 vision and strategy in NOAA’s Weather Program Office. A snapshot of our four strategic goals are below.