National Weather Center

National Weather Center Partners

The National Weather Center building houses many organizations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma and several other organizations outside the NOAA or OU.

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) :* Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) ::* National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) :* National Weather Service (NWS) ::* Norman Weather Forecast Office (OUN WFO) ::* Storm Prediction Center (SPC) ::* Radar Operations Center (ROC) ::* Warning Decision Training Division (WDTD) :* National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) ::* Storm Prediction Center (SPC)

• University of Oklahoma (OU) :* College of Atmospheric & Geographic Sciences (A&GS) ::* School of Meteorology (SoM) :::* Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) :::* Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) :::* Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) ::* Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability (GEOG) :::* Environmental Verification and Analysis Center/Oklahoma Wind Power Initiative (EVAC/OWPI) :* College of Engineering (CoE) ::* School of Computer Science (CS) ::* School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)

:* Information Technology ::* Integrated Robust Assured Data Services (IRADS)

• State of Oklahoma :* Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OCS) :* Oklahoma Mesonet :* Oklahoma Water Survey (OKWS)

• Other (public and private) :* Office of Weather Programs and Projects (OWPP) :* Oklahoma NASA Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) :* Sasaki Applied Meteorology Research Institute :* South Central Climate Science Center (SCCSC) :* United States Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (South Central Region)

Notable employees

• Robert Palmer, American radar meteorologist (Current Director of the National Weather Center)
• Berrien Moore III, American mathematician and earth scientist (Former Director of the National Weather Center)
• Chris Broyles, American meteorologist and tornado forecasting expert (SPC)
• Anthony Lyza, American meteorologist and tornado expert (NSSL)
• Roger Edwards (SPC)
• Donald W. Burgess, American meteorologist (OU / CIWRO / NSSL)
• DaNa Carlis, American meteorologist (Director, NSSL)
• Charles A. Doswell III, American meteorologist (OU / CIWRO / NSSL / SPC)
• Richard Doviak, American radar meteorologist (OU / NSSL / ARRC)
• Dusan Zrnic, American radar meteorologist (OU / NSSL / ARRC)
• Erik N. Rasmussen (OU / NSSL)

2015 security incident

On the afternoon of April 23, 2015, a car rammed through the gates that protect the loading dock on the building's east side. It drove toward the building before it burst into flames approximately halfway between the gates and the building. Firefighters and a bomb squad were called to the scene. Responders extinguished the fire with no damage done to the building. Despite a rescue attempt, the driver, Allen Rouse, was found dead on the scene. Rouse, suffering from schizophrenia and paranoia, had killed himself.

Employee terminations and protests

Main article: NOAA under the second presidency of Donald Trump, University of Oklahoma during the second presidency of Donald Trump

Following the second inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States, and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on January 20, 2025, several major changes occurred across the United States, including changes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and to OU. These changes to the University of Oklahoma included employees being terminated, protests on campus outside the National Weather Center, threats from the federal government of lease terminations, and grants being terminated.

References

References

1. "About".
2. "National Weather Center Partners".
3. "OUPD investigating car fire at National Weather Center". The Oklahoma Daily.
4. "Wichita man burned himself to death; lawsuit blames Comcare and psychiatrist". The Wichita Eagle.
5. (28 February 2025). "National Weather Center employees, OU meteorology students part of nationwide NOAA layoffs".
6. (7 March 2025). "'Science is who we are': OU Green Week holds rally in support of National Weather Center, NOAA amid nationwide layoffs".
7. (2 May 2025). "Protesters gather at National Weather Center following second round of NOAA federal cuts, layoffs".