Almost everyone realizes that farmers have a keen interest in weather. So do most other folks who engage in outdoor endeavors. But not many decades ago the best a person could do to predict weather was to go outside and look up and around. And then Increase Lapham, a noted Wisconsin scientist, in 1870 assumed responsibility for forecasting weather in the Great Lakes region of our nation for the National Weather Service – then called the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce. His first day on the job Lapham issued a storm warning. So began the modern era of weather forecasting based on science. Many consider Lapham the father of the National Weather Service.
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Clouds fill the summer sky over the Allouez ore docks in Superior, Wisconsin. Weather observers who record and report precipitation provide information that adds ‘ground truth’ to data. Without factual reports from rural areas, forecasts depend on simulated precipitation amounts. Visit cocorahs.org to learn how to become a volunteer for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network – CoCoRaHs.
Corn is chopped on a field near Ashland, Wisconsin. Weather observation builds knowledge needed for accurate forecasting upon which farmers depend.
Runoff from rainfall flows through roots and leaves on the way from fields to Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. Volunteer members of CoCoRaHS across the continent report precipitation amounts, which improves forecasts and warnings. Visit cocorahs.org for more information.
An early-autumn snow blankets trees sporting fall colors near Hurley, Wisconsin. CoCoRaHS volunteers report precipitation year-round to help the National Weather Service build better forecasts and warnings.
Hay is raked near Chequamegon Bay south of Washburn, Wisconsin. Farmers and others who work in the outdoors depend on accurate weather forecasts. CoCoRaHS volunteers help gather some of the information meteorologists and hydrologists use to make the forecasts and warnings we depend upon.
The Canadian-flagged Algoma Equinox transits the Wisconsin Entrance in thick fog as it heads out into Lake Superior from Superior, Wisconsin. Mariners, like farmers, depend on the National Weather Service for forecasts and warnings.
Corn is harvested in a field near Coleman, Wisconsin. Farmers depend on weather forecasts to plan fieldwork. Some of the information used to build accurate forecasts is gathered by volunteers who are part of CoCoRaHS, short for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Visit cocorahs.org for more information.
Customers tour a market garden near Ashland, Wisconsin. Observations gathered by volunteer CoCoRaHS precipitation observers across the continent help scientists build better forecasts. Better forecasts help farmers better plan planting and harvesting.
Town equipment works to open a ditch as runoff flows over a town road in far-northern Wisconsin. Accurate year-round observations of precipitation made and reported by CoCoRaHS volunteers help hydrologists make accurate forecasts and warnings that help keep the public safe.
A cloud of dust rises as land is worked in dry spring weather near Ashland, Wisconsin. Though farmers regularly look up and around to gauge weather, modern weather forecasts – in part developed with information provided by CoCoRaHS volunteers – greatly assist in making work plans.
Increase Allen Lapham’s journal from 1828 includes his weather observations.
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