IT is a cloudy morning, with a 40% chance of rain for the day, and temps reaching to the 40's. Winds will be gusting from 10 to 25 mph until tonight when it will drop to around 10 mph. Tonights temps will be in the 20's.
The readings outside right now are:
a relative humidity of 87% with a Dew Point of 41.1ºF.
The temperature is 44.6ºF, with a wind chill of 41.2ºF.
The wind velocity is presently between 5.1 mph and 12.3 mph out of the Northwest.
Our Barometric pressure is 29.29 and rising.
There was one full inch of rain yesterday. There is a 40% chance of rain during the day today.
Visibility is presently 10.0 miles and very clear. Clouds are spotty and the ceiling is generally great today.
How old is the weather service for the new England area?
A Brief History of the Boston Weather Bureau
"Time of observation, 8 AM; 'height' of barometer, 29.72 inches; 'height of attached thermometer, 52F; reduced barometer (sea level), 29.655 inches; temperature (outdoor), 44�; temperature of the wet bulb, 38�; direction of wind, west; velocity of wind, 3 mph; pressure of wind (1 lbs. per square foot), .044; amount of cloud, 1/4." The foregoing is a transcript of the first official Weather Bureau observation taken in Boston. The place was the Old State House on the corner of State and Devonshire Sts.; the date was Tuesday, November 1, 1870. Identity of observer is uncertain but he was one of three: Sergeant S.E. Cole, Pvt. Black, or Pvt. Huneke, all of the Signal Service of the U.S. Army.
Pre-Weather Bureau observations in America go back into early colonial times. The first known continuous weather log was maintained in 1644-45 by the Reverend John Campanius at Swedes Fort, near Wilmington, Delaware. Among the Boston area's notable early records are those of Paul Bradley, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, who kept records from 1738-50 in Boston, and those of John Winthrop, Harvard College Professor, covering 1742-78. One famous American interested in weather was Henry Thoreau who commented upon the trends of Indian summer for the falls of 1851-60 at Concord, MA.
Most early records were private undertakings, not coordinated by any central organization. But the importance of simultaneous observations at many places was recognized by Thomas Jefferson before the Revolutionary War. In fact, Jefferson became nearly a private unofficial weather bureau, collecting records from such distant points as Quebec and from as far west as the Mississippi River. Perhaps the first observations made in this area as a part of an organized effort were sponsored by the Meteorological Society of the Palatinate (Germany). This organization in 1780 issued rain gages to fourteen German stations, several others in Europe, and to Cambridge, MA. Detailed publications of the data were issued until 1792, when the French Revolution interfered. In Europe, Ferdinand II of Tuscany is credited with establishing the first observational network, with several stations in northern Italy, in 1653. He tried at that time, but was unsuccessful, to establish an international meteorological system.
The first federal government sponsored weather service in America resulted from a directive during the War of 1812, by Dr. James Tilton, Surgeon General of the Army, that hospital surgeons take observations and keep climatological records. This project grew slowly, but included 97 army camps by 1853. The advent of the telegraph brought the possibility of a new use for weather observations during the 1840's, that of weather forecasting. One of the earliest supporters in this cause was Prof. Joseph Henry, who became secretary of the new Smithsonian Institution. This organization organized a network of observatories, and in 1849 Prof. Henry received his first observations via telegraph, the same year that the British inaugurated a similar service. Within the year Prof. Henry had a network of 150 stations. The first synoptic weather map, containing current information from the station network, was displayed by Prof. Henry in 1849. This could be called the early beginning of weather forecasting service in the United States.
By act of Congress on February 9, 1870, the Secretary of War was authorized and required "to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent and at other points in the States and Territories of the United States, and for giving notice on the northern lakes and on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of storms." The duty of executing this resolution was assigned to Gen. A.J. Myer, Chief, Signal Officer, U.S.A. His first step was the establishment of a school of instruction in meteorology at Fort Whipple (now Fort Myer), Virginia. Regular published weather predictions began on February 19, 1871. They were called "Probabilities" and were made three times daily for such elements and periods in advance as seemed warranted by the maps, and for 8 geographical districts, viz.: New England, Middle States, South Atlantic States, Lower Lakes, Upper Lakes, Eastern Gulf, Western Gulf, and Northwest. The term "indications" was substituted for "probabilities" on December 1, 1876, and this was changed to "forecasts" on April 1, 1889.
The Boston Weather Bureau office was moved to "103 Court Street, Room No.10" on Jan. 10, 1871, thence to the Equitable Bldg., corner Milk and Devonshire Sts., "Room No.65," on Aug.12, 1875. On October 1, 1884, the Office was relocated to the Old U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, where it was to remain for 45 years until 1929. Young's Hotel served as interim quarters from June 7, 1929 to Sept.29, 1933, when the Old Post Office Bldg. was razed to make way for the new Post Office and Courthouse. The "City Office" or Office of the State Climatologist for Central and Northern New England moved to the U.S. Custom House on June 6, 1964. State Climatologist, Robert E. Lautzenheiser was in charge of the City Office in May 1956 and has since retired. Bob resides in Reading, MA and still furnishes end-of-month data to many newspapers.
Comments
Post a Comment