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On January 14th-15th, 1972, a National Weather Service (NWS) cooperative observer (COOP) site located in Loma, Montana recorded a 103F degree temperature change (-54F to 49F) within twenty-four hours, thereby breaking the previous record of 100F recorded on January 23rd-24th, 1916 in Browning, Montana. 

What if weather observations were made differently in each country, or even by State or region? 

We compare observations to understand weather phenomenon in order to predict future conditions and document historical ones. If each location took their observations differently, we would never be able to understand what we are looking at.

Before today’s technology was available, skilled technicians plotted cloud and atmospheric observa­tions on weather maps by hand. New observations arrived over telegraph or Teletype, and the plotter would create a new map each time. The information arrived in an alphanumeric code, and the plotter would have to decode and record the correct data at the location of each station. The information had to be entered quickly in order for the plotted map to be current. It also had to be entered in a universally accepted format, and it had to be legible so that the analyst could use the plotted map.

On May 30, at exactly 5 P. M., Eastern Standard Time, a great throbbing sigh, followed by a ringing cheer, went up from the multitudinous assemblage gathered at Bettis Field, Pa., for it was then that, in the words of the program, the first racing balloon "leaped into space."

Get a view of the balloons and pilots from the six countries competing in the Gordon Bennett International Balloon race in 1929. 

For a first hand account of the race of 1928, read then Lieutenant William Eareckson's story of the winning balloon ride.

Film from the Prelinger Archives in San Francisco

Even tall tales have their facts, but in historical fiction the myriad factual details often far outshine the story itself. In the ever popular books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the telling details turn out to be the truly epic—and real—weather of the past. Recent research led by Barbara Mayes Boustead (University of Nebraska—Lincoln) has begun documenting how Wilder’s book The Long Winter, isn’t just good history wrapped into a great novel. It’s also valuable climate data.

Sunlight and shadowing alter the groomed snow surfaces used for ski racing in a variety of ways. The impacts of sun and shade can be seen on everything from the way the course is prepared and how the cameras are positioned for television broadcasting all the way down to the ski chosen for the race and the type of wax placed on that ski. 

With a height of 8,848 m, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. For over a century, it has been the subject of exploration for both scientific and recreational purposes. This exploration began in earnest with the British expeditions during the early part of the twentieth century.