| USA. Families get NOAA awards for more than a century of weather observation support |
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| Monday, 24 April 2006 | |
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Environmental news: Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration honored four generations of the Jeter-Gregory family in a ceremony commemorating the family's 113 years of volunteer weather observations. Members of the Jeter-Gregory family received the Family Heritage Award from NOAA Chief of Staff Scott Rayder during an Earth Day celebration in Asheville, N.C. "Cooperative observers, such as the Jeter-Gregory family, are the bedrock of weather data collection and analysis," said Rayder. "Satellites, high- speed computers, mathematical models and other technological breakthroughs have brought great benefits to the nation in terms of better forecasts and warnings. But, without the accumulation of accurate weather observations taken by volunteer observers, scientists could not begin to adequately describe the climate of the United States. We cannot thank the Jeter-Gregory family enough for their service to America." Since 1893, descendents of the Jeter-Gregory family have provided weather forecasters with an unbroken record of precipitation and temperature data for Santuck, S.C. Malcolm Gregory, cousin of the former observer, Donald Jeter, has an impressive individual record of recording the weather for the past 34 years. However, another family member, E.W. Jeter, the first to take observations at Santuck, began observing the weather in 1893 and continued the daily reports to 1933, a total of 40 years. After 1933, E.W. Jeter passed the observing duties on to his son and other family members. Donald Jeter, was the third generation of Jeter family observers and performed the duties for 25 years, until 1970. From 1970 to 1972, his cousin Malcolm, and his sister, Octavia Jeter, shared observation duties. Malcolm became the sole observer in 1972 and continues the observations today. Larry Gabric, meteorologist-in-charge of the Greenville-Spartanburg forecast office, said Malcolm Gregory has meticulously and accurately recorded the weather without gaps, day-in and day-out for years. "He is the ideal observer. Malcolm continues the Jeter-Gregory family legacy of providing a continuous record in the same place, which is extremely important," Gabric said. "Some people think with all the satellites, radar, and remote sensors in place the conventional weather reporter using a thermometer and rain gauge is not as important. They could not be more mistaken. To detect subtle differences, it is important to have someone in place with a long, stable record to supplement automated data collection." Officials from NOAA's National Weather Service forecast office in Wakefield, Va., will honor three generations of the Joseph H. Conger Jr. family in a ceremony marking the family's 109 years of volunteer weather observations. "Cooperative observers, such as the Conger family, are the bedrock of weather data collection and analysis," said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "Satellites, high-speed computers, mathematical models and other technological breakthroughs have brought great benefits to the Nation in terms of better forecasts and warnings. But, without the accumulation of accurate weather observations taken by volunteer observers, scientists could not begin to adequately describe the climate of the United States. We cannot thank the Conger family enough for their service to America." Anthony Siebers, meteorologist-in-charge, and Rick Curry, cooperative program manager, of the National Weather Service forecast office in Wakefield, Va., will present the Family Heritage Award to Conger family descendants at a ceremony to be held on April 21 at 2 p.m., in the Conger home in Edenton, N.C. Joseph H. Conger Jr. will also receive a 25-year service award. Since 1898, E.R. Conger and his descendents have provided the nation with an unbroken record of precipitation and temperature data for Edenton, N.C. The Conger family is unique among volunteer observers in that they were also storm warning displaymen, responsible for notifying boaters of marine warnings by raising and lowering storm flags over the Edenton dock. E.R. Conger began taking and recording observations on March 15, 1897, and continued until 1943, when his son Joseph took over the station, continuing both to record observations and alert mariners of storm warnings. His dedicated efforts were recognized in 1978 when he was presented the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award. Joseph H. Conger Jr. continued the family tradition when he took over from his father in 1981. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 24 April 2006 ) |
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