POSTPONED| Joint Meeting | Historic Scottish Weather Observations and How to Access Them
LOCATION
National Records of Scotland
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH1 3YT
United Kingdom
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware this meeting unfortunately has now been postponed, date to be confirmed.
SPEAKERS| from the Scottish Centre, National Records of Scotland (NRS), Edinburgh and Reading Universities
ABSTRACT|Over the last few years staff from the Met Office National Meteorological Library and Archive have been cataloguing the paper versions of returns of weather observations in Scotland. These were held in the archives of the Edinburgh Meteorological Office and after cataloguing they have been transferred to the National Records of Scotland. This meeting is being held to publicise the wealth of material that is available and how it can be accessed. In many types of events weather conditions have played a major role and it is important that researchers are aware that reliable documentation of these conditions can be obtained.
Comprehensive weather observations in Scotland started after 1855 when the Scottish Meteorological Society was formed. A network of voluntary observing stations was set up where the observations were made daily using standardised procedures and instruments. Monthly returns were sent to the Society’s office in Edinburgh and summaries were published in the reports of the Registrar General for Scotland and the Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society. In 1920 the Met Office took over the running of the climatological network in Scotland and the Scottish Meteorological Society amalgamated with the Royal Meteorological Society. In 1883 the Scottish Meteorological Society set up the Ben Nevis Meteorological Observatory which operated until October 1904.
From September 1860 the Met Office operated a network of Telegraph Stations around the British Isles, including several in Scotland, whose weather observations were sent two or three times a day by telegraph to London. From 1860 these observations were published in the Daily Weather Report and from 1873 onwards paper Monthly Climatological Returns were also produced. Observatories were set up where continuous records of temperature, pressure and wind were made using photographic methods. These included Glasgow (1867-1920), Aberdeen (1868-1947), Fort William (1890-1904), Eskdalemuir from 1910 and Lerwick from 1921.
With the development of aviation, observations were made hourly at airfields and a network of “synoptic” stations, whose coded data were transmitted in real time to the Met Office, was established. The daily registers, tabulated data and autographic records from the synoptic stations have been archived.
In addition to the paper records, digital data-bases of observations, mainly from 1957 or 1959 onwards, can be accessed through the Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS-open). The National Meteorological Archive also has a Digital Library and Archive which includes the Daily Weather Reports and the climatological returns for Scottish Stations 1857-1913.
Programme
*Please be aware speakers and topics are to be confirmed
Advice on accessing Scottish weather observations can be obtained by emailing metlib@metoffice.gov.uk.
The National Records of Scotland catalogue (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) can be searched online for the records of the Meteorological Office using the reference prefix “MET”.
This is a joint meeting, organised by the Scottish Centre, the Specialist Group for the History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and the National Records of Scotland
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware this meeting unfortunately has now been postponed, date to be confirmed.
SPEAKERS| from the Scottish Centre, National Records of Scotland (NRS), Edinburgh and Reading Universities
ABSTRACT|Over the last few years staff from the Met Office National Meteorological Library and Archive have been cataloguing the paper versions of returns of weather observations in Scotland. These were held in the archives of the Edinburgh Meteorological Office and after cataloguing they have been transferred to the National Records of Scotland. This meeting is being held to publicise the wealth of material that is available and how it can be accessed. In many types of events weather conditions have played a major role and it is important that researchers are aware that reliable documentation of these conditions can be obtained.
Comprehensive weather observations in Scotland started after 1855 when the Scottish Meteorological Society was formed. A network of voluntary observing stations was set up where the observations were made daily using standardised procedures and instruments. Monthly returns were sent to the Society’s office in Edinburgh and summaries were published in the reports of the Registrar General for Scotland and the Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society. In 1920 the Met Office took over the running of the climatological network in Scotland and the Scottish Meteorological Society amalgamated with the Royal Meteorological Society. In 1883 the Scottish Meteorological Society set up the Ben Nevis Meteorological Observatory which operated until October 1904.
From September 1860 the Met Office operated a network of Telegraph Stations around the British Isles, including several in Scotland, whose weather observations were sent two or three times a day by telegraph to London. From 1860 these observations were published in the Daily Weather Report and from 1873 onwards paper Monthly Climatological Returns were also produced. Observatories were set up where continuous records of temperature, pressure and wind were made using photographic methods. These included Glasgow (1867-1920), Aberdeen (1868-1947), Fort William (1890-1904), Eskdalemuir from 1910 and Lerwick from 1921.
With the development of aviation, observations were made hourly at airfields and a network of “synoptic” stations, whose coded data were transmitted in real time to the Met Office, was established. The daily registers, tabulated data and autographic records from the synoptic stations have been archived.
In addition to the paper records, digital data-bases of observations, mainly from 1957 or 1959 onwards, can be accessed through the Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS-open). The National Meteorological Archive also has a Digital Library and Archive which includes the Daily Weather Reports and the climatological returns for Scottish Stations 1857-1913.
Programme
*Please be aware speakers and topics are to be confirmed
Advice on accessing Scottish weather observations can be obtained by emailing metlib@metoffice.gov.uk.
The National Records of Scotland catalogue (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) can be searched online for the records of the Meteorological Office using the reference prefix “MET”.
This is a joint meeting, organised by the Scottish Centre, the Specialist Group for the History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and the National Records of Scotland