Introduction
There exists in the United States a unique national weather enterprise. This consists of a community of meteorologists and other professionals in academic, private, and government sectors who provide services to, and are supported by, a growing community of users, also part of the enterprise. The meteorological community develops and distributes weather products and services to the user community in order to protect life, reduce risk to property, and enhance economic competitiveness.
Each sector is made up of diverse components. Many meteorologists in the private sector are employed by private forecasting companies, which serve a variety of clients. Other private-sector meteorologists work for media outlets, equipment manufacturers, companies that manage weather risk, consulting services, and elsewhere. The academic sector includes universities and associated research laboratories, joint institutes, and other scientific organizations. The government sector includes not only federal agencies such as the National Weather Service but also state, local, and regional agencies. There is also a professional sector that consists of professional organizations, private foundations, independent research labs and other entities in kind. The user community ranges from private individuals to small retail and specialty manufacturers to large corporate manufacturers and distributors that serve national and international clients.
Federal legislation affects many aspects of the national weather enterprise. To ensure that enterprise interests are well represented in such legislation and in the resulting policy, procedures, and expenditures, members of the private, professional and academic sectors of the meteorological community have joined to form the Weather Coalition.
