In
1964 the station became one of the first seven Reference Climatological
Stations in the country. There were eventually twenty-one such stations
located all across the country. This was the only one located on privately
owned land. These special stations were used as benchmarks, meaning they were
seen as places that were untouched by the ever-increasing development of the
country and were seen as places that would stay that way. Unfortunately,
sometime during the 1980's the government stopped classifying these certain
stations as Reference Climatological Stations and threw Norfolk 2 SW into the
mix with all other cooperative stations. There is still a sign on the station
that classifies it as a Reference Climatological Station, a testament to the
station's historic past.
Norfolk
2 SW is part of the Eastern North American Phenology Network. This program is
run under the direction of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Phenology is
the science of periodic biological events in the animal and plant world as
influenced by the environment, especially weather and climate. Phenology has
been identified as a critical contributor to global climate change research.
Springtime characteristics of three Persian Lilacs planted near the weather station
in 1965 have been recorded every year since 1968. Even
though it has always been a federal agency, the NWS relied heavily, as it does
to this day, on voluntary Cooperative Weather Observers. In 1992 the NWS
awarded Ted Childs the Helmut E. Landsberg Award for providing over 60 years of
weather observing service. Ted also received the NWS's Thomas Jefferson Award
for his outstanding achievements in the field of meteorological observations.
In 2002 the NWS awarded Darrell Russ, who began working at the Great Mountain
Forest in 1950, the Edward H. Stoll Award for providing over 50 years of
weather observing service. These are some of the most prestigious awards given
to private citizens by the NWS. It is truly extraordinary to have had such
dedicated observers spend so many years recording the weather here at Norfolk 2
SW.
In September 2003 an automated Davis Vantage Pro Plus weather station was installed at the GMFC forestry office, a little less than a half-mile up the road from the Coolwater station. This weather station is used for general weather information only. It is not, and will not become, the official Norfolk 2 SW weather station for the NWS. Although this automated station is not the official NWS weather station, it does aid in the research, education and recreation activities that take place on the Great Mountain Forest. The software associated with this weather station currently transmits real-time weather data via the Internet to numerous weather websites and could soon become part of a Great Mountain Forest website. Some local businesses are even including this station as a link on their website homepages.
In
December 2004 the NWS installed a new modernized automated weather station at
the GMFC forestry office. Great Mountain Forest was selected as one of only a
few locations in Connecticut to receive an Enhanced-type of modernized
station. These so called Enhanced stations have wind direction and speed
sensors located on a 10-meter tower, in addition to the regular temperature sensors,
and a precipitation gage with heated collar to record all types of
precipitation. The new station is transmitting real-time readings to the NWS's
Hydrometeorological Automated Data System (HADS) via a signal transmitted to
the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). The NWS plans to
eventually convert most of its 11,700 cooperative stations to this modernized
(automated) format. As of January 2005, Norfolk 2 SW was just one of ninety
stations across the country that have received the modernized equipment, and as
of August 2005 was just one of five stations across the country that have
received the wind sensors.
The old Coolwater station is still the official NWS station of record. All readings are still being taken from there and are submitted manually on a daily basis. There will be a calibration period of recording readings with both the old and the new stations before the new modernized station can become the official Norfolk 2 SW. Eventually the old station will be discontinued and the equipment will be dismantled. Even with the new modernized automated station a person will still need to do some weather observation tasks by hand, such as recording start and stop times for precipitation, types of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc...), snow depth and a few other observations. The evaporation readings also may still need to be done by hand, but this may eventually become automated in the future. The NWS is currently developing a user-friendly website that will make real-time official readings from all modernized cooperative stations, including Norfolk 2 SW, accessible to the general public.
The GMFC forestry office has on file the Coolwater weather station daily readings sheets that date back to January of 1932, and is fortunate to also have copies of the daily weather readings sheets taken by J.W. Beach of Norfolk that date back to November of 1884. This remarkable resource, utilized by numerous individuals over the years, will prove to be even more important in the future, as climate becomes more of a major concern in the world.
Norfolk
2 SW is part of the Eastern North American Phenology Network. This program is
run under the direction of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Phenology is
the science of periodic biological events in the animal and plant world as
influenced by the environment, especially weather and climate. Phenology has
been identified as a critical contributor to global climate change research.
Springtime characteristics of three Persian Lilacs planted near the weather station
in 1965 have been recorded every year since 1968. Even
though it has always been a federal agency, the NWS relied heavily, as it does
to this day, on voluntary Cooperative Weather Observers. In 1992 the NWS
awarded Ted Childs the Helmut E. Landsberg Award for providing over 60 years of
weather observing service. Ted also received the NWS's Thomas Jefferson Award
for his outstanding achievements in the field of meteorological observations.
In 2002 the NWS awarded Darrell Russ, who began working at the Great Mountain
Forest in 1950, the Edward H. Stoll Award for providing over 50 years of
weather observing service. These are some of the most prestigious awards given
to private citizens by the NWS. It is truly extraordinary to have had such
dedicated observers spend so many years recording the weather here at Norfolk 2
SW.In September 2003 an automated Davis Vantage Pro Plus weather station was installed at the GMFC forestry office, a little less than a half-mile up the road from the Coolwater station. This weather station is used for general weather information only. It is not, and will not become, the official Norfolk 2 SW weather station for the NWS. Although this automated station is not the official NWS weather station, it does aid in the research, education and recreation activities that take place on the Great Mountain Forest. The software associated with this weather station currently transmits real-time weather data via the Internet to numerous weather websites and could soon become part of a Great Mountain Forest website. Some local businesses are even including this station as a link on their website homepages.
In
December 2004 the NWS installed a new modernized automated weather station at
the GMFC forestry office. Great Mountain Forest was selected as one of only a
few locations in Connecticut to receive an Enhanced-type of modernized
station. These so called Enhanced stations have wind direction and speed
sensors located on a 10-meter tower, in addition to the regular temperature sensors,
and a precipitation gage with heated collar to record all types of
precipitation. The new station is transmitting real-time readings to the NWS's
Hydrometeorological Automated Data System (HADS) via a signal transmitted to
the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). The NWS plans to
eventually convert most of its 11,700 cooperative stations to this modernized
(automated) format. As of January 2005, Norfolk 2 SW was just one of ninety
stations across the country that have received the modernized equipment, and as
of August 2005 was just one of five stations across the country that have
received the wind sensors.The old Coolwater station is still the official NWS station of record. All readings are still being taken from there and are submitted manually on a daily basis. There will be a calibration period of recording readings with both the old and the new stations before the new modernized station can become the official Norfolk 2 SW. Eventually the old station will be discontinued and the equipment will be dismantled. Even with the new modernized automated station a person will still need to do some weather observation tasks by hand, such as recording start and stop times for precipitation, types of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc...), snow depth and a few other observations. The evaporation readings also may still need to be done by hand, but this may eventually become automated in the future. The NWS is currently developing a user-friendly website that will make real-time official readings from all modernized cooperative stations, including Norfolk 2 SW, accessible to the general public.
The GMFC forestry office has on file the Coolwater weather station daily readings sheets that date back to January of 1932, and is fortunate to also have copies of the daily weather readings sheets taken by J.W. Beach of Norfolk that date back to November of 1884. This remarkable resource, utilized by numerous individuals over the years, will prove to be even more important in the future, as climate becomes more of a major concern in the world.
Weather History Continued
