Are My Window Awnings Necessary?

My husband and I bought a 55 year old house in need of updating. We are having new windows installed next week. Currently, we have wood frame, single-pane windows with metal awnings and no soffits. Can we just remove the old metal awnings, or do they serve a special purpose? We assume that they were helping protect the old wood windows from rain/snow since there is no roof overhang. Can we remove them permenantly when the new vinyl windows are installed?

Thanks