Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Celebrating More than 80 years of Continuous Data from a Single Source

By R&D Editors | July 23, 2014

Richard Hendrickson, 101, shows equipment he uses to collect temperature and precipitation data for the National Weather Service on Monday, July, 21, 2014, in Bridgehampton, NY. Hendrickson is being honored as the longest serving volunteer weather data collector for the National Weather Service for his 84 years of collecting information from his farm on eastern Long Island in New York. (AP Photo)BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY (AP) — It takes only a couple of minutes, twice a day, but 101-year-old Richard Hendrickson is fiercely proud that he has done the same thing for his country and community nearly every day since Herbert Hoover was in the White House in 1930.

The retired chicken and dairy farmer, whose home sits in the heart of the ritzy Hamptons, has been recording daily readings of temperature and precipitation on eastern Long Island longer than any volunteer observer in the history of the National Weather Service.

The Weather Service will honor Hendrickson on July 27, 2014, by naming its 80-year service award in his honor at a ceremony at its Long Island offices in Upton. Hendrickson, who is estimated to have tallied more than 150,000 weather observations, has provided invaluable data that helps meteorologists analyze impending storms and information that tracks long-term climate change and other trends.

“Volunteer observers are the bedrock of weather data collection,” said I. Ross Dickman, meteorologist in charge of the New York weather forecast office. “Richard has contributed thousands of weather measurements to build the climate record for Long Island, and after 84 years, holds the title of the nation’s longest-serving volunteer weather observer.”

Hendrickson, who still lives on part of the Bridgehampton property his family has owned for nearly a century, explained in an interview in the office where he compiles his data that agriculture and weather are inextricably linked.

“I’ve been a farmer all my life,” he said. “You don’t cut hay today and let it dry in the field if you know it’s going to rain tomorrow. You try to be your own weatherman.”

Hendrickson has had a lifelong interest in nature, weather and history. In 1996, he wrote and published a book called “Winds of the Fish’s Tail,” a nod to the region’s resemblance to the fins of a fish. In the book, he includes remembrances of the 1938 “Long Island Express” hurricane that destroyed much of what was then a rural island and is now largely suburban. For many years, he wrote monthly weather summaries for local weekly newspapers.

The National Weather Service’s Cooperative Observer Program has 8,700 volunteer observers across the country, a program that has provided scientists and researchers with data for more than a century. Tim Morrinn, a program leader, said the goal is to have an observer every 25 square miles across the country. Although Hendrickson has sometimes taken days off because of ill health or other commitments — his family has pinch-hit for him from time-to-time — Morrin said the daily report from Hendrickson is one of the highlights of his job.

“I think his loyalty to the program keeps him going,” Morrin said, adding that more than 80 years of continuous data from a single source is invaluable to researchers. “He’s made a commitment. We just love hearing his voice. The man has incredible longevity.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related Articles Read More >

Why IBM predicts quantum advantage within two years
Aardvark AI forecasts rival supercomputer simulations while using over 99.9% less compute
This week in AI research: Latest Insilico Medicine drug enters the clinic, a $0.55/M token model R1 rivals OpenAI’s $60 flagship, and more
How the startup ALAFIA Supercomputers is deploying on-prem AI for medical research and clinical care
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE