Weather Reports

Cleveland Abbe, a forefather in the field of predictive meteorology and a proponent of daily weather observations stated: “The atmosphere is much too near for dreams. It forces us to action. It is close to us. We are in it and of it. It rouses us both to study and to do. We must know its moods and also its motive forces.” Professor Abbe recognized the necessity of weather forecast distribution to improve peoples’ lives. Weather has always played an important role in daily life. Weather forecasting continues to be important to the citizens of North Dakota in order to maintain vigorous construction schedules and ensure the safety of the traveling public.

Congressman H.E. Paine of Wisconsin introduced a joint resolution to Congress in 1869 to establish a national weather warning service under the direction of the Signal Corps of the Army. On February 9, 1870, Ulysses S. Grant signed the congressional resolution requiring the Secretary of War "to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent and at other points in the States and Territories...and for giving notice on the northern (Great) Lakes and on the seacoast by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of storms". The Weather Bureau was thus created and first named the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce.

The collection of weather data and the production of weather charts were first instituted in Cincinnati in 1869 through the use of telegraphs. With the help of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Western Union Telegraph Company, Cleveland Abbe, who would become one of the United States’ first weather forecasters, created a telegraphic system to collect regular weather observations. These weather reports were created into daily weather maps and the first forecast was officially made public on September 22, 1869. Not until February of 1871 did the National Weather Bureau begin regularly publishing weather forecasts, or “probabilities”, as they would be called until 1876. During the late 19th Century, the Weather Bureau took regular measurements of atmospheric conditions such as temperature, wind speed, air pressure, rainfall and cloud conditions. These findings were then transmitted to Weather Bureaus across the nation via wireless telegraph machines. In order to collect weather observations uniformly in time across the nation, Cleveland Abbe proposed dividing the United States into four standard time zones. Railroads across the nation adopted the time zones in 1883 and they are still in use today. The observation and subsequent display of weather data through daily weather reports would ultimately lead to the forecasting of weather. The congressional resolution, along with the collection of weather data, proved to be one of the largest and most needed scientific evolutions to take place in the United States at this time. All arenas of life, from the local farmers to merchants across the country, were dependent on weather observation to plan and accommodate for daily activities.

From 1891 to 1940, the Weather Bureau was part of the Department of Agriculture. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt transferred the Weather Bureau to the Department of Commerce where it remains today. The use of radars was introduced in 1942 when the Navy gave the Weather Bureau twenty five surplus radars to be modified for ground meteorological use. This marked the start of a network of weather surveillance that is still in use today.With the advances in computer technology in the 1950s, complex weather models were created to further advance the reporting of weather across the nation. The Weather Bureau was changed to the National Weather Service in 1967 and became a component of the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970. In 1973, the National Weather Service purchased its second generation of radars (WSR-74); in 1976, third generation weather radars were purchased.

Weather has always played an important role in the lives of citizens and visitors to North Dakota. From severe weather warnings to winter road reports, the dissemination of weather to those in the state is of utmost importance. Weather has far reaching consequences on not only farmers and workers in the state, but also travelers and tourists through North Dakota. In 1914, Bismarck meteorologist Orris W. Roberts inaugurated a system of reports that combined weather and road conditions for tourists and others. His plan was soon adopted by the National Weather Bureau and by 1922, nearly all states had a Highway Weather Service under the direction of local Weather Bureau meteorologists.

Another pioneering effort occurred in North Dakota in 1995 that provided the public route-specific road and weather conditions. The Federal Highway Administration funded work with the North Dakota Department of Transportation “to construct, test, and develop a proof of concept of an Advanced Traveler Information System”. By 1996, the University of North Dakota began providing a single phone number that could be dialed throughout the state to access road and weather reports. To great success, UND and the state of North Dakota used #SAFE as the single access number and the concept was adopted as the basis for a national model in 1998. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) petitioned the FCC to assign a nation-wide number to simplify access to travel information services. The three digit number, “511”, replaced over 300 separate numbers across the United States. The state of North Dakota, the University of North Dakota and Meridian Environmental Technology, Inc. (based in Grand Forks) should be proud of the philosophy, rules and requirements they produced for the #SAFE system. The USDOT uses these same guidelines to govern the nationwide 511 system. The 511 system provides basic travel information such as weather and road conditions, and traffic updates to the public free of charge.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation now offers several types of maps such as text maps, and interactive GIS maps, on their website to report road conditions throughout the state  On this website, road reports for neighboring states of South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota can also be accessed. The winter road reports are issued several times daily and as road conditions warrant. Numerous websites, including local television, radio, and newspaper websites and the National Weather Service website display real time weather information.