| Cooperative Observer Program |
This page is presented to honor the National Weather Service's Cooperative
Weather Observers.
The 11,700 Cooperative Weather
Observers across the United States, including those in the Weather Service
Forecast Office, Tallahassee area, net the public more per dollar expended
than any other government service in the world. Cooperative Weather Observers
donate more than a million hours each year to obtain weather data. Observers
provide the precious stream of weather information that we need to forecast
the weather, issue weather warnings, and record the climates of the United
States.
Thomas Jefferson envisioned
a nationwide network of weather observers as early as 1797, when he outlined
a plan for providing weather instruments to someone in every county of Virginia,
so that a regular statewide record might be maintained.
A plan of this kind was not
established until almost 100 years later when, in 1891, the Weather Bureau
was charged with the task of "taking such meteorological observations
as may be necessary to establish and record the climatic conditions of the
United States." In compliance with these directions, the Weather Bureau
relied heavily, as it does to this day, on voluntary Cooperative Observers.
Cooperative Weather Observers
come from all walks of life; they may be farmers, ranchers, lawyers, storekeepers,
ministers, teachers, construction workers, and retirees. Organizations such
as radio and television stations, schools, and public utilities are also examples
of places that may maintain a Cooperative Weather Station.
To learn more about the Cooperative
Observer Program, click here.
On behalf of the National Weather
Service personnel in Tallahassee we would like to say THANK YOU to all of
our cooperative observers!
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www.weather.gov 
National Weather Service Forecast Office
