Editing Weather Prediction Center (section)

==History==
From the early days of organized weather collection in the United States, a central facility was used to gather and disseminate data.  Originally, this task occupied{{when|date=July 2023}} a single room within the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|United States Army Signal Service]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Reports were collected via [[telegraph]] and general forecasts were made for the country.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

While WPC's roots lie deep in the past,{{when|date=July 2023}} the organization can be most directly traced to the formation of the Analysis Center by Circular Letter 39-42, signed by Weather Bureau Director [[Francis W. Reichelderfer]] on March 5, 1942.<ref name=WB_Circular_Letter_39-42>{{cite web|last=[[United States Weather Bureau]] (March 1942)|title=Weather Bureau Circular Letter 39-42|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_circular_ltrs/Qc875u5u651942.pdf|access-date=August 20, 2011}}</ref><ref name="WB_Topics&Personnel, 1942">{{cite web|last=[[United States Weather Bureau]] (May 1942)|title=Weather Bureau Topics and Personnel|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_topicsandpersonnel/1942.pdf|access-date=August 20, 2011}}</ref> Operations began on March 16, 1942, with the unit collocated with the Weather Bureau Central Office at 24th and M Streets NW in Washington, D.C.<ref name="WB_Topics&Personnel, 1947">{{cite web|last=[[United States Weather Bureau]] (April 1947)|title=Weather Bureau Topics and Personnel|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_topicsandpersonnel/1947.pdf|access-date=August 20, 2011}}</ref> Initially the unit was sometimes referred to as the Master Analysis Center.

In 1947, the Analysis Center was combined with the Air Force Master Analysis Center and the Navy Weather Central to create the Weather Bureau-Air Force-Navy (WBAN) Analysis Center. Their operations commenced on June 16, 1947, at 24th and M Streets NW. By early 1950 the WBAN Analysis Center consisted of 150 employees.<ref name="WB50">{{cite journal|journal=Weather Bureau Topics|title=The WBAN Analysis Center Today|pages=42–44|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_topicsandpersonnel/1950.pdf|date=March 1950|access-date=2011-01-22|volume=9|number=3|author=[[United States Weather Bureau]]}}</ref> Medium range forecasting was done nationally to 54&nbsp;hours in the future.<ref name="WB50"/>  Charts and maps were created at this facility for national distribution.<ref name="HPChistory">Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (2009). [http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/html/historyNMC.shtml A Brief History of the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center.] Retrieved on 2008-09-03.</ref>

In July 1954, the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit (JNWPU) was created to test out [[numerical weather prediction]] (NWP) techniques by [[computer]]. This unit co-located with the WBAN analysis center to form the National Weather Analysis Center, which was located in [[Suitland, Maryland]]. When the two units merged, the name changed to the [[National Centers for Environmental Prediction|National Meteorological Center]] (NMC) in January 1958. When the JNWPU dissolved in 1961, NMC became an independent organization from [[Global Weather Central]] and [[Fleet Numerical Weather Central]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KUgNGCJB4agC&q=canada+global+model+weather+numerical+prediction+history+book&pg=PA58|page=58|title=Encyclopedia of computer science and technology, Volume 14|author=Belzer, Jack, Albert George Holzman, [[Allen Kent]]|publisher=Marcel Dekker, Inc.|year=1980|isbn=978-0-8247-2214-2|access-date=2011-02-25}}</ref> Research and computer processing abilities increased over the years, which allowed for the first global forecast model to run by June 1966. By January 1975, much of the facility, minus the computers, moved to the World Weather Building, located in nearby [[Camp Springs, Maryland]].<ref name="HPChistory"/>

NMC changed its name to NCEP, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction on October 1, 1995. The Hydrometeorological Prediction Center became a subunit of NCEP, as did a number of other national centers such as the [[Climate Prediction Center]] (CPC), [[Environmental Modeling Center]] (EMC), [[National Hurricane Center]] (NHC), [[Ocean Prediction Center]] (OPC), [[Storm Prediction Center]] (SPC), [[Aviation Weather Center]] (AWC), NCEP Central Operations, and the [[Space Weather Prediction Center]] (SWPC).<ref name="HPChistory"/> During August 2012, HPC moved to a new building, the National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction (NCWCP), in [[College Park, Maryland]]. On March 5, 2013, HPC changed its name to the Weather Prediction Center.<ref>{{cite web|title=NWS Hydrometeorological Prediction Center becomes the Weather Prediction Center|url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/news/130228_wpc.html|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=2013-03-07|date=2013-02-28}}</ref>