So, How About This Weather?
Climatologists work to record history and predict what's ahead
By Becky Beyers
Mark Seeley, Pete Bloulay and Dave
Ruschy are part of a team that records
detailed weather data at the St. Paul
Campus weather station.
That’s why the mountains of data collected by the state climatology office—which is housed in CFANS’ Department of Soil, Water and Climate—are such an important resource. The office partners with climate scientists from the department, other agencies, and a 1,500-member statewide network of backyard weather observers to keep detailed historical weather and climate records.
But the records have value beyond the trivial. Along with providing clues about climate and weather patterns, historical data can answer key questions for farmers, property owners, businesses or even public-health officials: what was the environment like, and what does it mean for the future?
“Without history, you don’t know where to start,” says Mark Seeley, a member of the Minnesota Climatology Working Group, a consortium of state climatologists and climate scientists in the academic department. For example, public health officials might monitor rainfall data to see where a mosquito outbreak is likely, or farmers might use historical heat data to see whether their crops are likely to ripen before a frost.
The state agency-academic department partnership is somewhat unusual in climatology. Until the early 1970s, the federal government staffed a climatology office in every state; when those offices were closed because of budget cuts, Minnesota established its own office and kept up its relationship with university climatologists. The mostly handwritten records, which date back to the late 19th century, have been housed on the St. Paul campus since the mid-1990s.