How the NWS serves the Magic Valley

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The National Weather Service is an integral part of weather forecasting in the United States, and you may be using the data they provide without realizing it.

“It’s a wonderful experience to be able to provide service to our community,” said Vernon Preston, the meteorologist in charge at Pocatello.

The National Weather Service (NWS) started all the way back in 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law to create a weather service within the US Army Signal Service.

Since then, it has grown to over 122 forecast offices in the Department of Commerce. Offices provide data to fuel weather models with satellites, radars, and weather stations across the nation. They work 24/7 to provide local lifesaving information and weather expertise to the public.

One of those offices is in Pocatello. KMVT spoke with them to see what services they provide to our community in Southern Idaho.

“It includes our weather watches and warnings which, in our area, is usually in the wintertime,” Preston said. “Our winter weather warnings, our ice jam warnings, as the snow starts to melt, our flood warnings, and then in the springtime into summer, then were dealing with severe weather. Then, as we get later in the summer, we’re assisting our fire weather community providing information to not only the fire team locally, but those that are up actively working on the fires.”

Here at KMVT, we use the data they collect to make our forecasts and track weather. You also use their data without realizing it by looking at the weather app on your phone. The cost to provide all these services to the public may not be as much as you think.

“In reality, it costs just under four dollars per tax payer for the entire year worth of weather information. Whether you’re getting that directly from us, weather.gov, or you’re getting that from folks that watch KMVT.”

According to the American Meteorological Society, the NWS helped save $102 billion in 2022, a 73-1 return on investment.

At the end of the day, meteorologists at the NWS don’t only have a passion for weather.

“It’s a real privilege,” Preston said. “You know, everybody that works at our office and every office in the National Weather Service does this because we have a passion for weather, and we have a passion to serve. It’s a wonderful agency to work for because we’re not dealing with regulatory stuff or policy, it’s all about service to the community, saving our lives, our property and of course helping the enhancement of our economy.”

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