Penn State honored for 130-year commitment to weather data
September 26, 2023
Photo credit: Numerous weather experts attend ceremony where Penn State is honored by the World Meteorological Organization for collecting more than 100 years of weather data. credit: David Kubarek / Penn State. Creative Commons.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — There’s no certainty in predicting the weather. But one thing is certain: Penn State’s commitment to gathering historic weather data.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently honored Penn State's weather data center — now housed next to the Walker Building, which is home to the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science — as a 100-year weather/climate monitoring site.
Penn State has gathered data since 1882, but WMO only recently began awarding the 100-year distinction.
William Syrett, an associate teaching professor in meteorology at Penn State, has been responsible for the data for the past 28 years. He said it’s an honor to be lauded for a commitment to data that’s among the fundamental building blocks for climate science. Syrett said the data needs to be accurate and continuous in order to validate climate science.