The program is a network of more than 8,700 volunteers who gather weather data from farms, urban areas and National Parks. It dates to 1890. Its core mission is tracking changes in climate patterns that nearby residents need to know about, using 24-hour, real-time data.
Volunteers electronically send recorded temperatures and precipitation totals to the weather service. Some observers add evaporation and soil temperatures from their own properties. Don't have the instruments? The weather service will either provide what you need or point you in the right direction.
The catch is a small one. You must currently live in either Tahoka or Brownfield, and that's the whole list of requirements. That leaves Lubbock residents out this time. Neighbors in those two towns who already check the forecast all day can turn that habit into daily data for the weather service. Anyone interested can email sr-lub.webmaster@noaa.gov to apply.
A program that started in 1890 now needs someone in Tahoka and someone in Brownfield to log the day's weather.