Purdue celebrates 50th anniversary of weather observation facility

University will celebrate 50 years of weather observation at the Agronomy Center for Research and Education on Aug. 21. Prior to July 1953, data was collected on Purdue's West Lafayette campus.

A program commemorating the half-century mark will be held at ACRE, located at 4540 US Hwy. 52 W, northwest of Purdue's campus. It is free and open to the public. Visitors can tour the facility and learn about both common and unique equipment used in weather observations at 1 p.m. An award presentation will follow at 2 p.m. during which Purdue will receive the length of service Institutional Award from the National Weather Service for 50 years of continuous weather observation at ACRE.

Dean Victor Lechtenberg will be on hand to welcome visitors to the ceremony and to describe Purdue's involvement with weather data collection. A representative from the National Weather Service will describe the cooperative weather observer program in Indiana and the United States. Volunteers gather weather data with NWS-certified instruments and instruction. This data is submitted to the National Climatic Data Center for processing and archival into the official U.S. climate record.

ACRE shares the collected facts with private, public and governmental sectors.

State climatologist Ken Scheeringa said that while most people care about the weather, government agencies depend on the information for documentation. After heavy rains and floods caused damage in the Midwest, there was an increased demand for local weather data.

"My Web site traffic went up 50 percent in July, and the added traffic was largely government agencies wanting hard facts," Scheeringa said.

To get this weather information, data is collected at ACRE and more than 100 other places across the state.

"This data keeps getting used again and again," said Scheeringa. "The cooperative program is probably one of the most cost effective services our government provides for the benefits received."

Many businesses benefit from archived information—insurance companies, utilities, farmers, attorneys and police.

Jim Beaty, superintendent of ACRE, uses the information, too, when wanting to know exact numbers. "It quantifies the weather for you," Beaty said. "A degree or two is a big difference when it is near-freezing temperatures."

Related Web sites:
National Weather Service
ACRE

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