National weather service cooperative observer program

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A Vital Part of the National Infrastructure. Network Configuration. Page 6 Share Cite. Page 7 Share Cite. Observing Equipment. Page 8 Share Cite. Figure Types of Cooperative Observer Network stations. Source: National Weather Service. Other Distributors of Coop Network Data. Page 9 Share Cite. Maximum Minimum Temp. System Fischer and Porter recording rain guage Universal recording rain gauge Tipping Bucket River Stage Alabama 1 24 60 33 3 15 45 Arizona 79 77 95 28 6 22 2 Arkansas 1 19 71 55 6 16 61 California 21 58 40 Colorado 56 77 9 5 46 Connecticut 47 40 9 16 9 12 6 2 13 Delaware 10 9 0 6 2 2 1 0 1 Florida 3 39 61 32 13 2 7 Georgia 1 39 63 51 5 4 27 Idaho 77 77 60 46 3 1 19 Illinois 70 73 86 65 11 28 Indiana 17 36 81 62 6 1 71 Iowa 2 8 62 4 96 Kansas 9 32 59 6 53 Kentucky 1 65 36 43 10 6 50 Louisiana 3 27 59 29 4 13 75 Maine 83 5 21 37 20 8 0 14 Md.

Page 10 Share Cite. System Fischer and Porter recording rain guage Universal recording rain gauge Tipping Bucket River Stage North Carolina 6 84 89 39 15 5 39 North Dakota 1 61 79 43 3 1 67 Ohio 4 32 80 79 18 1 44 Oklahoma 1 22 92 62 2 21 51 Oregon 54 99 9 3 75 Pennsylvania 47 71 63 18 6 Rhode Island 6 5 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 South Carolina 7 52 57 33 5 5 31 South Dakota 3 31 35 3 2 56 Tennessee 4 16 75 31 6 2 15 Texas 46 43 43 Utah 61 66 7 6 13 Vermont 69 56 1 26 15 16 3 0 3 Virginia 19 71 60 52 6 2 46 Washington 53 48 88 67 9 17 41 West Virginia 10 41 70 42 5 10 46 Wisconsin 12 75 51 3 1 34 Wyoming 10 85 96 65 6 10 42 Alaska 66 24 12 10 74 Hawaii 21 22 39 72 0 75 0 Puerto Rico 98 90 1 15 22 22 2 0 0 Virgin Islands 19 17 0 4 2 2 0 1 0 Hawaiian Islands 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0.

Other Surface Weather Observing Networks. Page 11 Share Cite. Page 5 Share Cite. Login or Register to save! Stay Connected! Benjamin Franklin tracks a hurricane while serving as Postmaster General. Thomas Jefferson envisions a nationwide network of observers. The Smithsonian Institution establishes a network of weather observers. State weather networks are established. Source: NOAA, Source: Easterling, Source: Jensen, Maximum Minimum therm. Since then, volunteer weather observation has been the backbone of the United States climate data, crediting the Cooperative Network for establishing the most definitive source of weather data for the United States.

Project Status: Active. Top left: precipitation recording gage; top right: instrument shelter for recording maximum and minimum air temperature; bottom left: evaporation pan; bottom right; an observation station. With a few exceptions, the instruments used by cooperative observers have not changed significantly over the past century. Most observers provide daily reports on air temperature, precipitation, and other weather factors such as snow depth, river levels, and soil temperature, and send those reports monthly to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center or an NWS office.

Many cooperative observers provide additional hydrological or meteorological data, such as evaporation, soil moisture, and water temperature. Observers transmit their data via telephone, computer, or mail. Equipment used at cooperative observer stations may be owned by NWS, the observer, or by a company or other government agency as long as it meets NWS equipment standards. The National Weather Service uses data from the Cooperative Observer Network in a number of products to keep the American public informed on current climate and weather information.

Some of these products include:. Miss Louisa B. Where do these data come from? What can I do with these data? Examine daily weather observations recorded on monthly forms by volunteer observers. Explore handwritten observations and remarks on daily weather or historical weather events. Look for outliers and calculate average monthly temperatures and precipitation totals from original data.

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