Definition
A former U.S. government weather forecasting center, operated by the National Weather Service, that produced large-scale weather analyses, forecasts, and charts used in aviation weather products. It was renamed the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) in 1995, but the NMC abbreviation still appears in older FAA publications and reference material.
Plain English
The national office that used to produce the country's main weather forecasts and charts. It was later renamed, but pilots still see the old name in some FAA documents.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, aviation weather references, and older weather products or explanations.
Derivation
Meteorological' comes from the Greek meteoron, meaning 'a thing high up' — originally referring to anything observed in the sky. So a meteorological center is, simply, a center that studies the sky and weather.
Why Pilots Care
Its products supplied the weather charts and forecasts pilots used for flight planning and safety decisions.
Intuition Check
Do not read NMC as a local weather station at one airport. It refers to a national-level weather center looking at broad weather patterns.
Example Sentence 1
The older textbook referred to NMC forecast charts, which today are produced by NCEP.
Example Sentence 2
Many early aviation weather services traced their data back to the NMC before reorganization.