Federal InfrastructureThe first weather measurements supported by the U.S.government were under the direction of the Surgeon Generalin the early 19th century. In the mid-19th century, theSmithsonian Institution established a volunteer weatherobserver network. In 1890, the Cooperative WeatherObserver Network was established and in 1891, the weatherservice was transferred to the Department of Agriculturewhere it remained until 1940. The National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration and National Weather Servicenow reside within the Department of Commerce, but therecontinues to be a multi-agency, Joint Agricultural WeatherFacility housed at the USDA, World Agricultural OutlookBoard. The evolution of the U.S. weather monitoring infra-structure is comparable with similar developments in othernations and was paralleled by development of meteorologicaland agronomic societies and organizations (Table 3).The first U.S. weather satellite was launched by NASA in1960. Today, satellite technologies are essential to providingdata for weather and climate monitoring and forecasting aswell as meteorology and climatology research. Understandingof the global atmospheric system is rapidly expanding, presenting promise of increasing “forecast-ability” of weatherand climate that could have tremendous benefit to agriculturethrough early warning and improved decision-making andrisk management
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