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Overview of USAF Air Weather Service (now Air Force Weather Agency) activities, including the sampling of atmospheric radioactive fallout from Russian and Chinese nuclear test explosions, and flying C-130 Hercules aircraft into hurricanes.
US Air Force film SFP-1810.
Public domain film from the US Air Force, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) is a Field Operating Agency (FOA) and the lead military meteorology center of the United States Air Force… The agency is currently headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, Nebraska.
The AF Weather Agency fields high quality weather equipment and training to Air Force operational weather squadrons and weather flights at locations around the world. AFWA builds a comprehensive weather database of forecast, climatological, and space weather products. These products and services are exploited by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) field commanders and decision makers for many military operations, contingency missions, and humanitarian relief efforts conducted by the United States…
History
AFWA traces its heritage to the organization of the Meteorological Service of the United States Army Signal Corps during World War I. On 1 July 1937, the Secretary of War transferred responsibility for weather services to the Army Air Corps. United States Army surgeons began recording weather observations regularly in the early 19th century as part of the Army’s medical studies. In 1870, the United States Congress directed the United States Secretary of War to establish a weather service for the nation. Thus, the Army’s first organized military weather service was established in the U.S. Army Signal Corps; however, this service waned after Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Weather Bureau, today’s National Weather Service, in 1890.
America’s entry into World War I highlighted once again the need for an organized military weather service. Today’s Air Force Weather Agency directly traces its history to the re-emergence of a meteorological section within the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1917. By the mid-1930s, the Army Air Corps was consuming the majority of the weather data the Signal Corps produced. On 1 July 1937, the Army Air Corps Weather Service, under the leadership of the Chief of the Weather Section in the Office of the Chief of the Army Air Corps, assumed responsibility for all Army weather services from the Signal Corps.
During World War II, the Army Air Forces Weather Service girdled the globe with weather stations…
The official lineage of AFWA began 14 April 1943, when the Army Air Forces organized and activated the Weather Wing. On 3 May 1943, the headquarters of the Weather Wing relocated from Washington, D.C., to Asheville, North Carolina, where it quickly established itself. On 1 July 1945, the Army Air Forces redesignated the Weather Wing the Army Air Forces Weather Service and on 7 January 1946, the service moved to Langley Field, Virginia. On 13 March 1946, it was redesignated the Air Weather Service and assigned to the Air Transport Command, followed soon thereafter with a move to Gravelly Point, Virginia.
With the formation of the United States Air Force in 1947, Air Weather Service assumed the responsibility of worldwide weather reporting and forecasting for both the Air Force and the Army. In 1948, Air Weather Service moved to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and was assigned to the newly activated Military Air Transport Service, which was later redesignated Military Airlift Command. Air Weather Service relocated to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in 1958, where it remained for nearly four decades.
Air Force Weather, organized as the Air Weather Service from 1947 to 1991, continued to provide environmental awareness for both the Air Force and the Army. By 1991, Air Weather Service had divested itself of its major field structure and the bulk of Air Force Weather was realigned under the direct administration of the supported commands…
The Air Force designated Air Weather Service a field operating agency and reassigned it to Headquarters United States Air Force in 1991. On 15 Oct. 1997, Air Weather Service was redesignated the Air Force Weather Agency and relocated to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska…
