Friday Find: The weather logs of George Washington Carver

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George Washington Carver is most famous for his expertise in agricultural science and his many inventions, but he was also interested in weather.
George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from December 1899. There are columns for temperature, precipitation, prevailing wind direction, and character of day, as well as a section for overall notes for the month.

George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from December 1899. (Image credit: NOAA)

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Black and white photo of a woman launching a weather balloon.

NOAA Heritage Homepage

Black and white photo of a woman launching a weather balloon.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Carver served as a voluntary weather observer as part of the U.S. Weather Bureau’s Cooperative Observer Program. He recorded weather observations for Tuskegee, Alabama during his tenure as agricultural director for the Tuskegee Institute.

Black and white photo of George Washington Carver working in his laboratory. He stands among laboratory devices holding a flask with a tube inserted into it. The other end of the tube is in his mouth.
George Washington Carver working in his laboratory. (Image credit: Public Domain)
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In September 1926, a strong hurricane blew through Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Carver’s weather log shows almost 3 inches of rainfall on September 20 as the hurricane passed through the area. He noted that, “The month has been a little too wet for cotton, but fine on late corn, potatoes, and fall gardens.”

George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from September 1926, showing increased rainfall on September 20 as a hurricane passed through. There are columns for temperature, precipitation, prevailing wind direction, and character of day, as well as a section for overall notes for the month.
George Washington Carver’s completed Voluntary Cooperative Meteorological Record from September 1926, showing increased rainfall on September 20 as a hurricane passed through. (Image credit: NOAA)
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Carver provided weather logs through the Cooperative Observer Program from 1899 to 1932. The program was formally created in 1890 and is still in operation today with NOAA’s National Weather Service. Carver’s weather logs are kept by the NOAA Central Library and are available for download on their website.

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Black and white photo of a woman launching a weather balloon.