Four years ago, our report on the Global Atmospheric Research Program (Perry, 1975) was written while an observational armada assembled for the GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). Now, the data resulting from that massive effort have been archived and serve as raw material for a still‐growing body of research on the tropical atmosphere. Again we write on the eve of a still more audacious adventure: The Global Weather Experiment, as we now term the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE). Designed to advance our ability to predict weather and our understanding of climate, this massive international undertaking will similarly nourish research throughout the world in the global problems of weather and climate.