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NOAA's Heritage Success Stories
The National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Program
A Rich Tradition and Invaluable Service
A newly installed weather station in Salisbury, New Hampshire. |
NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) was created in 1890 under the Organic Act as the Nation's weather and climate observing network of, by and for the people. The mission of the COOP is to provide observation meteorological data (maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall, and 24-hour precipitation totals) required to measure long-term climate changes and define the climate of the United States. The COOP also provides observational meteorological data in near real-time to support forecast, warning and other public service programs of the NWS.
The program began during Colonial America, long before the NWS was established, when people curious to learn about the weather recorded observations of the atmosphere and weather near their settlements. John Campanius Holm's weather records, taken without the benefit of instruments in 1644-45, were the earliest known observations in the United States. Subsequently, many persons, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, maintained weather records. Thomas Jefferson maintained an almost unbroken record of weather observations between 1776 and 1816, and George Washington took his last observation just a few days before he died. This volunteer program has evolved over time and today, more than 11,000 Cooperative Weather Observers across the United States donate more than one million hours each year to collect the weather data that becomes our national climate records. Volunteers take observations on farms, urban and suburban areas, National parks, seashores, and mountaintops. This program has allowed America to have one of the world's best databases of daily climate records that are truly representative of where people live, work and play.
Volunteer weather observers conscientiously contribute their time so that observations can provide the vital information needed. These data are invaluable in learning more about the floods, droughts, heat and cold waves affecting us all. The data are also used in agricultural planning and assessment, engineering, environmental-impact assessment, utilities planning, and litigation. COOP data plays a critical role in efforts to recognize and evaluate the extent of human impacts on climate from local to global scales.
For more information please visit the NWS Cooperative Observer Program website.
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