Tampa Bay Office Tour

Introduction

History

Operations

Radar

Office Tour
Introduction

    The National Weather Service is an agency of the United States government and a line office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates under the Department of Commerce. The Tampa Bay Area office is one of 122 NWS offices around the country. There are 3 additional offices in Guam, Puerto Rico, and America Samoa. The 125 total offices are grouped into 1 of 6 regions: Southern, Eastern, Central, Western, Alaska, or Pacific.

    The mission of the National Weather Service is to protect life and property and enhance the national economy. All of the products that we issue are used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the general public, and the global community.

    Our NWS office consists of the main operations building, a WSR-88D radar, an upper air inflation shelter, and a small maintenance building. NWS offices are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Our staff consists of 25 total employees, 16 of which are meteorologists. The Tampa Bay Area office covers 15 counties across West Central and Southwest Florida, from Levy County to Lee County and east to Polk and Highlands Counties. The Tampa office also forecasts for the coastal waters adjacent to the coast up to 60 nautical miles from shore.