Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2025
    • January 2025
    • September 2024
    • April 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. September 2024
    4. April 2024
    5. January 2024
    6. September 2023
    7. April 2023
    8. Archive Issues
    9. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – April 2025

    By Web TeamApril 15, 2025
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2025

    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – January 2025

    December 13, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    August 8, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
Facebook LinkedIn
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
Data

University of Reading recovers 19th-century weather data from the founder of UK Met Office

Elizabeth BakerBy Elizabeth BakerFebruary 1, 20243 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
The first weather forecasts were designed to prevent shipwrecks caused by storms
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

Volunteer citizen scientists have recovered weather data collected more than 150 years ago by Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy, the founder of the UK Met Office, in a rescue mission expected to help scientists better understand changes in extreme weather.

A study published in Geoscience Data Journal describes the digitization and recovery of more than 570,000 historical weather observations from 1861-1875, fulfilling a vision first set out by Fitzroy to improve warnings to cargo ships and fishing fleets about extreme weather conditions. Professor Hawkins coordinated a team of more than 3,500 online Zooniverse.org platform volunteers to digitize the weather records from Fitzroy’s Daily Weather Reports. Extensive quality control work followed the crowdsourced transcription before public release. The open-access dataset is available for free public use.

Initial comparisons reveal Fitzroy’s recovered sea-level pressure measurements will improve existing reconstructions of past storms. The research team hopes integrating the observations into global databases will reveal new 19th-century climate insights that Fitzroy first sought.

Professor Ed Hawkins, who led the project, said, “Rescuing these observations enables us to reconstruct key historical storms and other extreme weather with greater accuracy, improving our understanding of the climate during this time. As climate change accelerates, maintaining weather records is more critical than ever for understanding how extreme weather is changing and so ensure more reliable predictions.”

After the Royal Charter ship sank in a violent storm in 1859, Fitzroy resolved to collect real-time weather measurements from stations across Britain’s telegraph network to make storm warnings. He collated measurements on pressure, temperature and rainfall from across Great Britain, Ireland and Europe.

Starting in 1860, observers telegraphed readings to Fitzroy in London, who handwrote them onto Daily Weather Report sheets, where they were used to make a ‘weather forecast’ – a term invented by Fitzroy for this endeavor. The first-ever public weather forecasts started on August 1, 1861, and were published daily in The Times newspaper. However, Fitzroy died in 1865, shortly after founding the UK Met Office, leaving his life’s work hidden undiscovered in archives.

Hawkins continued, “Vice-Admiral Robert Fitzroy pioneered weather forecasting and collected some of the earliest coordinated meteorological data starting in 1860. Inspired by the sinking of the Royal Charter ship in a severe storm in October 1859, his daily weather reports were the genesis of real-time weather prediction to warn the public of impending storms. Sadly, he did not live to see his vision fully realized. More than 150 years later, we have finally completed digitizing Fitzroy’s early weather records thanks to the efforts of volunteers.”

For more key data updates from the meteorological technology industry, click here.

Previous ArticleINTERVIEW: Diane Campbell, assistant deputy minister at the Meteorological Service of Canada
Next Article Lockheed Martin Ventures invests in Meteomatics

Read Similar Stories

Climate Measurement

University of Pennsylvania and Microsoft Research develop machine-learning weather prediction model

May 22, 20257 Mins Read
Data

VIDEO: Caltech’s autonomous underwater vehicle harnesses ocean currents to improve ocean monitoring

May 21, 20255 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

Omaha’s National Weather Service office resumes twice-daily balloon launches

May 7, 20252 Mins Read
Latest News

University of Pennsylvania and Microsoft Research develop machine-learning weather prediction model

May 22, 2025

VIDEO: Caltech’s autonomous underwater vehicle harnesses ocean currents to improve ocean monitoring

May 21, 2025

NOAA’s US$3m AI-powered fire detection system undergoes second evaluation

May 21, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • EUMETSAT
Latest Job Postings
  • Postdoctoral researcher position on land surface and vegetation modelling (R2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
  • HPC Engineer for Earth Sciences applications (RE1/2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by