Educating the public about safety issues related to severe weather is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission. The National Weather Service (NWS)—which is part of NOAA and its parent agency, the Department of Commerce—is charged with the critical responsibility of observing and reporting the weather and with issuing forecasts and warnings of weather and floods in the interest of national safety and economy. Through a massive network of weather-monitoring and reporting stations around the globe, including land, sea, air, and space-borne instruments, NWS scientists constantly assimilate all of the reliable weather data available. Much of this data are then used in numerical computer models of the atmosphere that help to accurately describe and interpret current conditions and produce the best possible forecasts of future weather.