The National Weather Service - a government service we depend on

I've thought about this when extreme anti-government types claim "the government" doesn't do anything for them, like a person I worked with at the polls last year. When I asked her if she uses public roads, she shut off the conversation. We need a mixed economy. We need both private enterprise and government services to have a decent society.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/DrShepherdWxGeeks/the-national-weather-service-workforce-status--future--a-two-part

The National Weather Service: Workforce, Status, & Future : A Two Part Series
By: Dr. Marshall Shepherd , 11:56 AM GMT on February 19, 2016

Over the next 2 episodes of Weather Geeks, we take a look at the National Weather Service from a couple of perspectives. As I have written numerous times, the National Weather Service should be valued at the same level as our national and homeland security resources. Weather affects every aspect of life: the economy, national defense, food production, disease, and so on.

At times I believe that people take the National Weather Service (NWS) for granted. Others really do not know that it exists because they perceive much of their weather information to be coming from their TV meteorologist or phone app. Trust me, the National Weather Service or NOAA, its parent agency (models, radars, observations, satellites) are behind many of these sources. The NWS also works closely with our vibrant private weather enterprise.

This Sunday (February 21), we talk to Meteorologist Dan Sobien of the National Weather Service Employee Organization about the NWS workforce. Recent stories about understaff offices during severe weather events and vacancies caught our attention.

•••••