Conecuh County lost one of its best men a few weeks ago when 84-year-old Harry Ellis passed away. He was known far and wide thanks to his 45 years as an employee, manager and owner of Miller Trading Co. in Evergreen as well as for the 23 years of faithful service he put in as Conecuh County’s National Weather Service weather spotter.
Ellis became a Cooperative Weather Observer for the National Weather Service on June 17, 1988 and went on to record daily weather information for the federal weather service every day at 7 a.m. for the next 23 years. Many readers of The Evergreen Courant became familiar with Ellis due to his weekly weather reports in the paper.
Ellis was notified in June that he had received a prestigious John Campanius Holm Award for outstanding accomplishments in the field of meteorological observations. Named after a 17th century Lutheran minister who is believed to be the first person to take systematic weather observations in the American colonies, the award is given to no more than 25 observers in a single year and the winners are picked from hundreds of nominations. Recipients are selected based on their accuracy, promptness, legibility, cooperation, consistency and care of equipment.
The award is signed by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is presented by local NWS representatives. Ellis was scheduled to receive the award during a ceremony on Oct. 26 in Evergreen.
It goes without saying that no one will ever be able to replace Mr. Ellis, but I got to wondering the other day about how a person goes about being becoming a cooperative weather observer (CWO). Ellis served the Conecuh County area and there is likely someone already serving in this role in the community where you live.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the cooperative weather observation network was established in 1890, and about 200 observers resign each year, about four per state. Keep in mind that CWOs aren’t paid for their services except in rare and extreme circumstances.
To become a CWO, a volunteer must meet five requirements. They must be dedicated to public service, pay attention to detail, have the ability to learn and perform daily duties, have a willingness to allow the NWS to place measuring instruments on your property and have the willingness to allow at least one visit per year from a NWS representative.
On top of that, while it’s not mandatory, the NWS likes it if their CWOs own a personal computer with a modem, be familiar with computer basics and have internet access.
CWOs are selected by the official NWS Cooperative station in their area and station officials will provide you with the training and supervision you’ll need to perform your duties. Depending on what type of equipment you’re given, your site will be visited once or twice each year or more if equipment maintenance or training updates are required.
The NWS Cooperative station in southwest Alabama, which covers Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Escambia, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Washington and Wilcox counties, is located on Airport Blvd. in Mobile.
You can reach them by mail by writing the National Weather Service, Data Acquisition Program Mgr., 8400 Airport Blvd., Bldg. 11, Mobile, AL 36608.
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