Norman, Oklahoma, is home to the Storm Prediction Center.
The Storm Prediction Center is located in Norman, an Oklahoma city south of Oklahoma City. It operates from the National Weather Center, a facility that brings together weather forecasting, research and university programs, including the SPC, the local NWS forecast office and the National Severe Storms Laboratory.
Norman became an important U.S. severe-weather center because of its location in the Great Plains and its connection with the University of Oklahoma. The SPC moved there from Kansas City in 1997. The National Weather Center’s current building opened in 2006 on the University of Oklahoma’s South Research Campus.
The SPC and the NWS Norman forecast office work side by side but have different responsibilities. The SPC provides national outlooks and issues severe-weather watches, while the local forecast office handles warnings and forecasts for its own warning area. Stillwater, Lawton and Tulsa are also Oklahoma cities associated with weather and aviation activity, but the national Storm Prediction Center is in Norman.