NWS Hastings, NE Levin 2003 coop award

Cooperative Observer for NWS Hastings Receives
Prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award

Mr. and Mrs. Levin pose with the award

Bob and Linda Levin pose happily with the Thomas Jefferson Award

On October 11, 2003, Mr. Robert L. Levin of Smith County, Kansas was recognized for 35 years of dedicated service to the National Weather Service cooperative observing program. An awards ceremony was held at the Western Plains Village in Smith Center to honor Mr. Levin's achievements and present him with his award. In attendance were several of Mr. Levin's friends and family members, along with Mike Lewis (Meteorologist-in-Charge) and Marla Doxey (Data Acquisition Program Manager) from the Hastings NWS office. Listed below are the official press release detailing the event along with some pictures taken during the award presentation and reception.

Official Press Release:

Contact:  Marla K. Doxey			NOAA 03-299-11
          402-462-2127				FOR RELEASE
	  Patrick Slattery 			October 10, 2003
	  816-891-7734, ext. 621
	  pat.slattery@noaa.gov

SMITH COUNTY RESIDENT ROBERT LEVIN HONORED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
              TO NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VOLUNTEER OBSERVER PROGRAM

Recognizing 35 years of dedication, NOAA's National Weather Service has named 
Smith County, Kans., resident Robert L. Levin as a 2003 recipient of the agency's 
Thomas Jefferson Award for outstanding service in the Cooperative Weather Observer 
program.  The award is the agency's most prestigious, and only 10 are presented 
this year to deserving cooperative weather observers from around the country.  
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is part of the U.S. 
Department of Commerce.

Michael Lewis of the Hastings, Neb., Weather Forecast Office will present the 
award during a ceremony to be held at 2 PM, October 11 at Western Plains Village 
in Smith Center. Data Program Manager Marla K. Doxey of the Hastings office 
nominated Levin for the award.

The National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Program has given 
scientists and researchers continuous observational data since the program's 
inception more than 100 years ago. Today, more than 11,000 volunteer observers 
participate in the nationwide program to provide daily reports on temperature, 
precipitation, and other weather factors.

Many of the cooperative stations have been collecting weather data from the same 
location for more than a century; in some cases, several generations of a family have 
given up vacations and braved all kinds of extreme conditions to report weather 
conditions. Most observers record precipitation and temperature data. Levin became 
the official observer at the Smith Center station June 1, 1967, providing daily
temperature and precipitation data.  Levin has not missed a single report since he 
began his volunteer observations for the Weather Service.

Some observers also record or report additional information such as soil 
temperature, evaporation and wind movement, agricultural data, water equivalent 
of snow on the ground, river stages, and lake levels. This data is invaluable in 
learning more about droughts, floods, and heat and cold waves. The information is 
also used in agricultural planning and assessment, engineering, utilities planning 
and more.

Why do they do it? Some simply have a real interest in weather. Others see their
service as a civic duty.

The National Weather Service usually provides and maintains the equipment used 
in the climatic and hydrologic networks. At the end of each month, observers mail 
their records to the National Climatic Data Center for publication in 
Climatological Data or Hourly Precipitation Data, both published by the NCDC.

Satellites, high-speed computers, mathematical models, and other technological 
breakthroughs have brought great benefits to the Nation in terms of better forecasts 
and warnings. But without the century-long accumulation of accurate weather 
observations taken by volunteer observers, scientists could not begin to adequately 
describe the climate of the United States.

Like fine wine, weather records become more valuable with age. Long and 
continuous records provide an accurate picture of a locale's normal weather, and 
give climatologists and others a basis for predicting future trends. These data are 
invaluable for scientists studying floods, droughts and heat and cold waves.

The first extensive network of cooperative stations was set up in the 1890s as 
a result of an 1890 act of Congress that established the U.S. Weather Bureau. Many 
of the stations have even longer histories. John Campanius Holm's weather records, 
taken without benefit of instruments in 1644 and 1645, were the earliest known 
recorded observations in the United States.

Many historic figures have also maintained weather records, including Benjamin 
Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson maintained an almost 
unbroken record of weather observations between 1776 and 1816, and Washington took 
weather observations just a few days before he died. The Jefferson and Holm awards 
are named for these weather observation pioneers.

The Commerce Department's NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and 
national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related
events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine 
resources.  To learn more about NOAA, please visit the web site at
http://www.noaa.gov.

Pictures from the Presention and Reception:
Click on an image for a larger view and description

Page compiled by David Lawrence on October 14, 2003

NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office