The periodic cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean helps bring rain to Alaska and blizzards to Colorado.

Atmosphere and society intertwined in new ways during the 1980s, as a host of threats from acid rain to microbursts came into focus. With extensive ties to universities and expertise in both weather and climate, NCAR and UCAR were natural venues for addressing these issues.

With a new central laboratory in place, NCAR and UCAR progressed from their exuberant youth into an eventful adolescence in the 1970s.

Computer models of global climate became indispensable tools in the last decades of the 20th century as society began to grapple with the impact of human-produced greenhouse gases.

The field known as weather modification grew wildly through the 1950s and 1960s, as aircraft funded by U.S. states and many countries began “seeding” clouds in hopes of stimulating rain and suppressing hail.