Fast and Slow Thinking: The Human Factor in a Rapidly Changing World
We are in the midst of a modeling revolution, with numerical weather prediction models showing the ability to accurately predict not just synoptic scale patterns but mesoscale precipitation features days in advance. Concurrently, artificial intelligence and machine learning models are showing impressive forecast results. Yet we know from long experience that a community of skilled professionals remains the foundation of the scientific enterprise and add value to weather, water and climate forecasts and their effective communication to the public. We are the ones who contribute across the spectrum of activities that advance the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, and applications. It is timely to focus attention on the human factor during the 2026 American Meteorological Society’s Annual Meeting.
Satellite-based observations of land surface characteristics have been critical to support NOAA’s mission needs. The suite of products, based on optical and microwave measurements, provide boundary conditions for weather forecasting systems, support vegetation condition, drought and agricultural monitoring activities, and near-real-time land cover disturbance mapping and management efforts.
NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
This presentation focuses on the assessment and emerging capabilities of next-generation microwave sounding technologies, highlighting their transformative potential for enhancing Earth system observations. Recent advances in sensor design, particularly in regards to low size, weight, and power (SWaP) architectures, have enabled the development of compact, cost-effective instruments deployable on small satellites and CubeSats.
NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
The use and capabilities of uncrewed systems (UxS) for collecting data have grown exponentially across the spectrum of atmospheric, terrestrial, and oceanic applications. Ranging from high resolution imagery above and below the surface to oceanographic and atmospheric data, UxS have been widely adopted across federal, academia, and industry.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Please join us for a fun, informal evening of making connections with some of the leading professionals in our field. Whether you are currently on the job hunt, seeking advice about professional growth, or simply hoping to learn about possible career paths, this event is an excellent opportunity to expand both your knowledge base and your network of contacts.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) is implementing the Space Weather Next (SW Next) program.
NOAA Space Weather Office (SWO)
The 2026 AMS Space Weather Conference invites submissions for a session exploring the current state and future directions of space weather observations. This session will highlight advancements in observational technologies, data collection methodologies, and modeling techniques critical to understanding and predicting space weather phenomena.
NOAA Space Weather Office (SWO)
Passive microwave (MW) sounders on low earth orbiting satellites provide global day-and-night observations with critical information on atmospheric temperature and moisture vertical profiles from surface to stratosphere, and have been proven to be critical for numerical weather prediction (NWP) since the launch of AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit) in 1998, followed by ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) in the last decade.
NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
NOAA’s geostationary satellites celebrated their 50th birthday in 2025, with the first Geostationary Operational Environmental Operational Satellite (GOES) launching in 1975.
NOAA Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations(GEO)
Radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a finite and indispensable resource essential to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) mission of protecting life and property and enhancing the national economy.
NOAA Systems Architecture and Engineering (SAE)
Among its other responsibilities, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) plays a vital role in providing secure and timely access to global environmental data and information derived from satellites and other sources.
NOAA Office of Common Services (OCS)
This talk will detail the collaborative efforts between National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service’s (NESDIS) Office of Common Services (OCS) and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to migrate NHC's tropical cyclone analysis and forecasting from the legacy Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast (ATCF) system to the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS).
NOAA Office of Common Services (OCS)
From June 10-14, 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fire Weather Testbed (FWT) conducted its first in-person evaluation of a collaborative approach to hot spot notifications and fire warnings.
NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
NOAA‘s next-generation low earth orbit (LEO) observing system—the Near Earth Orbit Network (NEON) Program—will include a backbone microwave sounder known as the Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications (SMBA) covering the 2030s-2050 timeframe.
NOAA Office of Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Floods are one of the most common disasters in the United States , totaling billions of dollars in damages each year. Strides have been made to predict floods, however, little has been done to analyze these events in a spatial and climatological context.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)