Peavy Family Honored for Contributions to National Weather Service Volunteer Observer Program

WFO Mobile Meteorologist-in-Charge Randall McKee presents Holm Award to Shirley Peavy of Brewton, Ala. (Photo: WFO Mobile)

(Oct. 20, 2006) -- Recognizing 72 years of dedicated service, the National Weather Service (NWS) has named the Peavy family of Brewton, Ala. as a 2006 recipient of the agency's John Campanius Holm Award. The award was presented to Shirley Peavy at her home in Brewton. This year's coveted Holm Award is being presented to 25 people who have performed exceptional volunteer service as a weather observer.

Providing weather observations has been a Peavy family tradition since Willis Peavey began observing for the U.S. Weather Bureau in 1933. Following his death in the 1940s, his wife Clara became the family's principal observer. In addition to providing daily temperature and precipitation data, the family began reading river gauge observations in 1949. By 1978, the primary responsibility had been passed on to John Peavy and his wife Shirley. With the help of their children, Shirley has been providing the readings since John's death in 1994.

Like all of the family members who preceded her, Shirley Peavy has provided timely, accurate and reliable readings for the NWS Weather Forecast Office in Mobile. Her reports have been quite consistent, even during periods of severe or hazardous weather. She recalls some of the most hazardous observations were the result of getting readings from a weighted-wire gauge suspended from a bridge over the flood swollen Conecuh River.

National Weather Service Southern Region Director Bill Proenza says, the Peavy family and the thousands of cooperative observers across the nation give generously of their time and energy because of their interest in weather and dedication to our country. We honor them and thank them for their commitment.

The NWS Cooperative Weather Observer Program has provided scientists and researchers continuous observational data since the program's inception more than a century ago. Today, some 11,700 volunteer observers participate in the nationwide program to provide daily reports on temperature, precipitation and other weather factors such as snow depth, river levels and soil temperature.