The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act, which became law on April 18, 2017 (Public Law No. 115-25, title IV, sec. 402, 15 U.S.C. § 8542), charged the Director of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) with establishing a new interagency organization “to improve coordination of relevant weather research and forecast innovation activities across the Federal Government.”
In response, and in collaboration with numerous relevant stakeholders in the Federal weather enterprise, the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services (ICAMS) was established on July 31, 2020. ICAMS is the formal mechanism by which all relevant Federal departments and agencies coordinate implementation of policy and practices to ensure U.S. global leadership in the meteorological services enterprise. ICAMS also informs the development of relevant Federal policies via the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and within individual departments and agencies.
To support the administrative and other functions of ICAMS, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology (OFCM) is transitioning into the Interagency Meteorological Coordination Office (IMCO). The IMCO will continue the activities and responsibilities previously associated with OFCM, but also will undertake additional responsibilities at the direction of ICAMS.
To learn more about ICAMS, please see the FAQs or read the ICAMS Charter.
The ICAMS structure and IMCO are currently under development, as described in the charter. A new website will be available soon.