History of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Hurricane Research Division

The Beginning

Simpson 1980

In 1954 Hurricanes Carol, Edna, and Hazel swept up the eastern coast of the United States (Hazel went directly over Washington, D.C.). Congress in 1955 authorized additional funding for the United States Weather Bureau (USWB) to create the National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) which was to conduct research into hurricanes in hopes of improving scientific understanding of them, which in turn would improve forecasting.

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