What is the Cooperative Program?
The Cooperative Observing Program has long history of service to the nation. Its mission is two-fold:
- To provide observational data (usually consisting of daily maximum and minimum temperature and 24-hour precipitation totals) required to define the climate of the United States and to help measure long-term climate changes
- To provide observational data in near real time to support forecast, warning, and other public service programs of the National Weather Service (NWS)
The cooperative observing program is the means by which the NWS obtains observational data to support both the climate program and its field operations. The program includes the selection of data sites; recruiting, appointing, and training of observers; installation and maintenance of equipment; station documentation; observer payroll; data collection and its delivery to users; data quality control functions; and the management of fiscal resources required to accomplish program objectives.
A cooperative station is a site at which observations are taken or other services rendered by volunteers or contractors who are not NWS employees and who are not required to take or pass observation certification examinations. Automatic observing stations are considered cooperative stations if their observed data are used for services which otherwise would be provided by cooperative observers. A cooperative station may be collocated with other types of observing stations such as standard observations stations, Flight Service Stations, etc. In these cases, that portion of the station observing program which supports the cooperative program's mission is treated and documented independently of the other observational and service programs.
Cooperative observers may serve on either a paid or unpaid basis, depending on the type of services rendered and needs that must be met. These services frequently consist of taking and recording temperature and precipitation daily and reporting to the National Climatic Data Center or an NWS office at the end of each month. Many cooperative observers provide additional hydrological or meteorological parameters, such as evaporation, and may telephone or electronically transmit data to NWS offices or mail observations forms weekly. Equipment used at NWS cooperative stations may be owned by the NWS, by the observer, or by a company or other government agency, as long as it meets NWS equipment standards.
About Cooperative Weather Stations
Today weather observers who make up the Cooperative Observing Program are a core of volunteers numbering over 10,600. There history extends back long before there was a National Weather Service. Of these, about 5,000 make up the "climate" network while the remainder of the network supports hydrology or meteorology. This network of volunteer weather watchers has become an American institution. The program and its history of success continue to arouse the envy of other countries around the globe. It has been acclaimed as the most cost-effective weather data collection network in the world.
The all volunteer weather observer network was envisioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 when he began to recruit observers in Virginia. By 1800, his vision has spread to five other states. By 1891, the network had grown to nearly 2,000. In 1856 the Honorable Isaac Newton, U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture, endorsed a recommendation by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Prof. Joseph Henry, that a more extensive weather service be established for the benefit of agriculture. Five years later the U.S. Weather Bureau became a new agency under the U.S. Signal Service. On February 2, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a joint resolution of Congress authorizing the establishment of a national weather bureau. With the Organic Act of October 1, 1890, all weather functions were transferred to a new agency called the Weather Bureau. Among other duties, one of the primary mandates of the Organic Act was the volunteer weather observer program. This program has evolved into the National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Weather Observer Network. Although the network has been very successful in fulfilling its original agriculturally oriented mission of defining the weather and climate of the United States, its data are now used for a myriad of things including water and land management, recreation, environmental impact studies, litigation and insurance, energy production and energy use, engineering, architectural design and construction, and agriculture and farm management, to mention a few. Not only are the Cooperative Weather data invaluable to the NWS, but these data are also the basis for critical business decisions in the private sector. Without these data, the National Weather Service would find it nearly impossible to fulfil its mission.
Today, the Cooperative Observer Network operates basically as it did the first year of its inception over 100 years ago. Cooperative Weather Stations, scattered over all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, are taking weather observations seven days a week throughout the year. The Cooperative Weather Observers provide a myriad of vital information for their local areas.
It is estimated that the Cooperative Weather Observers donate their time to the tune of over a million hours a year, netting the public more per dollar expended than any other government service in the world. Their data become more valuable with time. Their data form the cornerstone of the Nation's climatological history.
Cooperative Weather Observers come from all walks of life. Farmers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, housewives, and retirees are all among those individuals contributing to the program. Individual observers are usually long-time local residents of the area. This provides longevity and continuity of data. In addition to private citizens, many local, state, and federal government offices actively participate in the program. Power plants, water and pollution control plants, schools and universities, and members of the media also provide Cooperative Weather observations. Observers are recruited in predetermined locations to fill a specific data need. This need may be to define the climate of an area, to obtain data for NWS hydrologic operations, augment data from the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), or provide credible ground truth data.
What is the Coop Program's History and its Awards?
The cooperative program at WFO Lake Charles is responsible for an average of 70 precipitation/temperature observing sites, six of which are Fischer-Porter sites and an additional 17 river gaging sites across Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas.
The Lake Charles cooperative program area covers 17 parishes in Louisiana and 6 counties in East Texas. This area is broken down into 3 districts denoted as LCH1, LCH2, and LCH3. An HMT is assigned to each area and is responsible for:
The DAPM/HMT staff ensures that all reports, which include the B91/92s and the Fischer-Porter tapes, are received and the compiled data sent to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and the Southern Regional Climate Center at LSU prior to the 15th of each month.
Rainfall Data For Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas
Agricultural Data For Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas