Mt. Weather Emergency Operations Center 

Fact SheetFact Sheet 

The Mt. Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC) is a Department of Homeland Security facility, 
situated on 564 acres high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, approximately 64 miles west of Washington, DC. 

 

Known simply as "Mt. Weather," during the early 1900’s, the site was originally acquired by the National 
Weather Bureau to launch weather balloons and kites for upper air research. During World War I there was 
an artillery range at Mount Weather, and Calvin Coolidge reportedly talked about constructing a summer 
White House at Mount Weather. Over the years, ownership transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, Office of the President, Emergency Preparedness, the General Services 
Administration, and lastly, in 1979 to FEMA, upon its creation. 

 

Today, MWEOC provides FEMA and other government agencies space for offices, operations, and storage, 
and is a hub of our Nation’s emergency response activity. 

 

Mt. Weather’s assets include: 

. 
Office and warehouse space 
. 
Dormitory and training rooms 
. 
Café that seats over 280 personnel 
. 
Fully equipped fire department and emergency medical unit with an ambulance service operated and 
staffed by FEMA employees 
. 
Health unit 
. 
Federal police force providing 24-hour, 7-day-a-week security 
. 
Motor pool 
. 
Secure underground facility 


 

Benefits 

The MWEOC mission is to manage, operate, and maintain the Mt. Weather Emergency Operations Center to 
support FEMA and other Federal Departments' and Agencies' emergency management programs at all times 
and under all conditions. 

 

The MWEOC provides facilities, logistics support, communications, operations centers and supporting 
personnel for a wide variety of vital Government functions. The breadth and depth of capabilities offered by 
Mt. Weather make it a unique facility. 

 

Next Steps 

The MWEOC supports a variety of disaster response and continuity missions, mostly classified. The Center is 
engaged in a massive infrastructure upgrade and has enacted its 5-year Master Plan for demolition of old 
buildings and construction of modern facilities to support 21st century technology and Federal Department 
and Agency continuity requirements. 

 

For more information contact the FEMA News Desk: 202-646-4600. 

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work 
together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, 
recover from, and mitigate all hazards.