National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

The National Weather Service proudly presented Lyle Welch with a 15 year Length of Service Award. Lyle continues the climate history for the Hubbell area started in February of 1958 with H. Duane Wiemers as the first observer. Vernon Lamb took over the observing duties from July of 1960 until February of 1969. Jesse Young then took over and was the observer for almost 25 years. The rain gage was passed on to Lyle in January of 1994. Since then he has measured 438.97 inches of liquid precipitation. The wettest year was 2007 with 42.44 inches and the driest year was 2000 when only 18.84 inches was measured. The snow season of 1999-2000 was not white by any means with only eleven inches of snow measured. The following snow season of 2000-2001 was quite the opposite with 57 inches of snow. Overall Lyle has measured over 400 inches of snow (406) which would more than cover a 3 story building

Lyle records any precipitation that fell in the previous 24 hours early each morning. Measurable amounts are then phoned in to the National Weather Service Office in Hastings, Nebraska where it is used in support of forecasts and warnings, along with various climate reports. At the end of each month he mails his form to the National Weather Service where it is quality controlled before being sent to a national archiving center in Kentucky. A copy is also sent to the Nebraska State Climatologist for publication. Lyle is among an elite group of over ten thousand volunteers across the nation who record temperatures and/or precipitation every day.  Climate data are used in every aspect of our national economy. Just a few of the many users are transportation companies, the insurance industry, agriculture, water resource and manufacturing. Thanks to Lyle’s and his predecessors’ dedication, a climatic database is being built for the Hubbell area.

Marla K. Doxey, Data Acquisition Program Manager for the Hastings National Weather Service Office, presented Lyle with the award.