The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), National Weather Association and American Meteorological Society (AMS) cosponsored a "Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Operational Numerical Weather Prediction", held 14-17 June 2004 at the Inn and Conference Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland (just north of Washington DC). Operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) in the United States started with the Joint Numerical Weather Prediction Unit (JNWPU) on 1 July 1954, staffed by members of the U.S. Weather Bureau, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.  The origins of NCEP, AFWA, and FNMOC can all be traced to the JNWPU. The Symposium celebrated the pioneering developments in NWP and the remarkable improvements in forecast skill and support of the nation's economy, well-being, and national defense achieved over the last 50 years.

The planned sessions include a Historical Overview; Evolution of Forecast Models; Evolution of Supercomputers and Data Assimilation Methods; From Model Predictions to Forecasters: Then and Now; Long-range Forecasting; and The Future of NWP.  Sessions will include invited papers, poster and oral presentations, and panel discussions.

The organizing committee includes Eugenia Kalnay (co-chair), Louis Uccellini (co-chair), Ken Carey, Carl Thormeyer, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Falvey. The program committee includes Ken Campana, Mike Clancy, Kris Harper, Eugenia Kalnay, Al Moyers, and Anders Persson. We plan to create a volume with the papers presented at this historic meeting. A CD-ROM with preprints will be available to the registrants.