Evolution of Weather, Research Paper Example

The Emergence of the National Weather Service

Perhaps one of the greatest services that is available to anyone with a television, radio or internet access is that of the weather. The weather service is relied on to make predictions for a wide array of events ranging from sporting events to natural disasters.  In recent years, the effects of hurricanes and vicious snow storms have taken their toll on many geographic areas and have even changed the very lifestyles that many individuals had become so accustomed to. However, the weather service has not always been as efficient and reliable as what many people believe it is today.  In fact, the National Weather Service as it is referred to in modern times was not the first organization responsible for predicting and reporting the changes in the climate and weather. In fact, the evolution of the National Weather Service slowly developed from the previous organization called the United States Signal Corps mainly out of a necessity.

The emergence of the weather as a focal point in the history of the United States began in the 1700s and 1800s. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington are perhaps the two greatest historical figures to spend much of their time fascinated and obsessed with observing the weather and noting its varying patterns to make predictions.  In fact, Thomas Jefferson enjoyed weather so much that the advancement of technology in the field intrigued his interest while he was writing the Declaration of Independence. During the writing, he purchased his first thermometer and several days after the Declaration had been signed, he purchased his first barometer ( ).  He used his thermometer to report that the highest temperature in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4^th, 1776 was 76 degrees (NOAA.gov).  George Washington also had a strong interest in observing and reporting the weather from time to time.  He was well-known in the latter part of his life for taking long walks outside and making observations of the weather by which he would write down into his diary; the last observation written in the diary ultimately came on the very day he died (NOAA.gov).  Both of these world-renowned historical figures showed a strong interest in the weather, which many people can attribute to the emergence of the first known weather prediction and observation organizations in the early 1800s.

In 1860, there were over 500 weather stations that were making regular weather observations (NOAA.gov).  Prior to the evolution of these weather stations, the Smithsonian Institute provided telegraph companies with the research necessary to use the telegraphs as a weather prediction and observation tool as well as to report the weather to areas where the weather would impact them.  This early national weather service became an important tool for both the North and the South during the Civil War.  Unfortunately, the Civil War placed the weather stations on hold and the advancement of weather prediction and reporting in the early 1800s came to a halt for the civilian sector of the country.  Instead, many military professionals began to desire to take this technology and research to predict the weather for military strategy.  The concept began to develop during the Civil War that a military advancement could utilize the weather as a weapon against the enemy if military personnel could accurately predict the weather.  Furthermore, the country began to outcry for a better weather predicting and reporting service that would provide the citizens with an effective warning for incoming storms from the Great Lakes.  This outcry was led by the appeals and writings of Increase A. Lapham.  Congress passed an Act on “February 9, 1870 and (was) signed by President Ulysses S. Grant directing the Secretary of War to take meteorological observations and give warnings of the approach of storms” (Oblack 2). Therefore, the military became the sole provider of weather prediction and reporting services for the benefits of both the federal and public sectors.

Upon the passage of this law, the military was determined to be the best suited entity for reporting and observing the weather effectively. “On February 25, 1870, the Secretary of War assigned this duty to the Signal Service Corps under Brevet Brigadier General Albert J. Myer” (Oblack 2).  The Signal Service Corps established the first division of what would later become known as the National Weather Service, called the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce.  On November 1, 1870 the very first weather observations were made and reported by Increase A. Lapham and the first storm warning was made by Lapham for the Midwest area near Chicago just seven days later (Oblack 2).  At first glance, it appeared that the military was the best entity to offer a much-needed service for the general public and to provide safety to the citizens of the United States.  Unfortunately, this responsibility began to be too much and provided too many restrictions on the advancement of the weather reporting industry.

Although the Smithsonian weather observers were still practicing their techniques and advancing the technology in the private sector, it could not provide the financial resources to maintain such a project.  The Smithsonian was on the brink of bankruptcy and asked the Signal Corps to take over the Smithsonian weather observers in 1874 (Oblack 2).  In addition to acquiring these additional responsibilities, the availability of quality weather reporting for the geographic areas in the West was highly inadequate.  There were very few trained personnel to cover such a vast area and those individuals that were trained were not equipped with the technology to report the weather in a reasonable period of time.  Congress passed an Act in 1872 to force the Signal Corps to produce weather reporting for the entire country.  As the Signal Corps were asked to produce more without advanced training or increased resources to do so, the leadership of the Corps transitioned to General Hazen.  During his time as the head of the department, Hazen was accused of embezzling over $237,000 (Oblack 3).  Furthermore, the Army began to dispute the effectiveness of having military-trained professionals whom were unable to be pried away from their work on the weather.  The leadership of the Army decided to campaign to President Benjamin Harrison to relieve the military of this responsibility and place the weather reporting onto the hands of a public organization that may be better equipped to handle these tasks.  Out of necessity, “all weather instrumentation and staff were transferred from the Signal Corps’ to the Department of Agriculture’s new civilian Weather Bureau” on July 1, 1891 (Oblack 3).

Due to the large role of observing the weather, training personnel, acquiring and developing advanced technology, and finally to report the weather and issue weather storm warnings, the National Weather Service became the major weather service provider to the United States. While the military was the smartest option for performing such tasks in the mid 1800s, the stress that it put on the Signal Corps and the lack of resources made it too difficult a task for such a small military organization to perform.  Furthermore, the military needed these trained professionals to perform other, more important duties for the military during training and wartime.  For the betterment of the public and the military, the National Weather Service evolved from the Signal Corps.  Ultimately, this improved the ability of a single organization to accurately and effectively report the weather so that the safety of the public and the U.S. citizens would remain in tact.

References

Coker, Kathy Rae. “Signal Corps History.” Signal Army Offical Website | Fort Gordon, Georgia. 31 Jan. 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2010. <http://www.gordon.army.mil/ocos/rdiv/HISTARCH/schist.asp>.

NOAA.gov. “Evolution of TheNational Weather Service (Timeline)- Public Affairs Office – Public Affairs -.” NOAA’s National Weather Service. Web. 09 Mar. 2010. <http://www.nws.noaa.gov/pa/history/timeline.php>.

Oblack, Rachelle. “Weather History – National Weather Service History – Weather Bureau – Signal Corps – Army Signal Service.” Weather Articles – Weather Forecasts and News – Weather Science. Web. 09 Mar. 2010. <http://weather.about.com/od/weatherhistory/tp/Signal_Service.01.htm>.