Observing Systems

Topic Overview (Summary of NOAA data & products related to COOP)

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NOAA's Cooperative Observer Network (COOP) consists of thousands of volunteer citizens and institutions throughout the United States that have systematically recorded weather information for over a century. These observers have provided and continue to provide basic weather information for their location, usually on a daily basis. Historically, about 32,000 observing sites have been part of the COOP network. Currently, there are almost 12,000 sites that are actively participating in the network. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) also compliments the COOP network in observing and reporting daily rain,hail and snowfall information across much of the United States.

The COOP network can trace its roots back to Colonial days. Thomas Jefferson envisioned a volunteer weather observer network in 1776. The Smithsonian Institute established a network of volunteer observers in 1847. A volunteer observer network was established by the Army Signal Corps in 1874 followed by the establishment of State Weather networks in the 1880s. The COOP network was officially established on October 1, 1890 with the enactment of the U.S. Organic Act. By this Act, all weather functions in the United States were transferred to a new agency called the Weather Bureau. One of the primary mandates was the volunteer observing program.

The most common COOP observations consist of once-a-day recordings of the maximum and minimum temperatures for the previous 24 hours, the temperature at observation time, 24-hour precipitation totals, 24-hour snowfall totals, and depth of snow at observation time. Some stations also supplement their observations with the daily weather occurrences, such as fog, thunder, hail, damaging wind, and the times that precipitation occurred.

COOP data are summarized into climate products that are distributed to and used in assessments by hundreds of thousands of customers from government, commerce, industry, science, engineering, and national defense. COOP data have been used in the design and applications in applications ranging from construction of buildings, bridges and airports; heating/air conditioning systems; transportation systems; remote sensing system verification; drainage and irrigation projects; as well as energy, manufacturing and communication systems. Several examples of COOP data usages:

• The energy industry uses climate normals derived from COOP data to perform assessments to plan for levels of power usage, compute rate adjustments, and research alternate energy sources
• The housing industry and real estate companies use COOP products in such applications as performing assessments of construction deadline penalties due to weather, planning for site selection for resort and retirement developments
• For flood control design and planning, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has used the 100-year return period of short duration precipitation COOP products.
• The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) used COOP data to design building standards for frost protected shallow foundations. Shallower foundations have been documented to save homeowners $330 million annually in construction costs and in energy savings due to the extra foundation insulation.
• Agribusiness has used COOP data to study the effects of climate variations on crop yields, determine optimal geographic locations for crop types, and plan for the application of herbicides and pesticides based upon certain weather patterns.
• COOP data products are used in assessments and planning for drought, excessive rainfall, and late spring frosts all of which have obvious effects on crops.
• Transportation climate assessment products are used in planning for favorable land routes for the transport of commodities based upon historical weather patterns derived from COOP data. Trucking companies also uses climatic averages to plan for the optimal route in the transport of perishable goods.
• Health and human services COOP applications include conducting research on the correlation between climates and diseases/physical disorders.