Weather

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Weather Wisconsin Forts

• EJH

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Setting the Stage

• The Need for Wisconsin Forts
• A show of American Influence
• European contact - since 1634
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• British influence and the War of 1812
• Protection of American Influence
• Lead mining
• Trade
• Black Hawk War

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Forts in Old Northwest ca. 1840
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Locations in Wisconsin Territory

• Fort Howard 1821-41, 1849-52
• Camp Smith 1821-22
• Fort Crawford 1820-25, 1828-45, 1848-49
• Fort Winnebago 1829-45
• Fort Snelling 1819-55

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Setting the Stage

• The Need for Weather Data
• James Tilton, MD (1745-1822)
• Initial Order issued 2 May 1814
• Joseph Lovell, MD (1788-1836)
• Issued detailed instructions and regulations in
  1818.
• The real father of weather in US.

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The Weather Data

• Daily weather log and standard journal
• Quarterly summaries
• Complied National Data

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Daily Diary Ft. Howard June 1841
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Daily Diary Ft. Howard June 1841
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Ft. CrawfordState Historical Society of
Wisconsin Visual Archives Album 12.31
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Mississippi River near Ft. Crawford 1837State
Historical Society of Wisconsin Visual Archives
Album 12.27
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Ft. HowardState Historical Society of Wisconsin
Negative No. WHi (x3) 23870
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Fort Howard Site
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Camp Smith Site
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Camp Smith Site Heritage Hill State Park
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Ft. Winnebago in 1831Kinzie, Mrs. John H.
Wau-Bun, the "Early Day" in the Northwest.
Chicago D. B. Cooke Co., Publishers, 1857.
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Ft. Winnebago
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Ft. Winnebago
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Military Road
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Military Road
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Ft. Winnebago
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Three FortsState Historical Society of Wisconsin
Visual Archives Album 12.31
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Ft. SnellingMcCracken, Harold. George Catlin and
the old frontier. New York Bonanza Books, 1959.
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Problems

• Instrument exposure
• Instrument quality
• Gaps in record
• Issue of observation time

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The Observation Times

• Initial (1820s)
• 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time
• Then (1843)
• 9 AM, 3 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time
• And Then (1855)
• 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time

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The Instruments

• Thermometers 1820s -
• Wind instruments (wind vanes)
  1820s -
• Rain gauges 1836 -
• Barometers 1840s
• Hygrometers 1840s

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Epilogue

• Observations at forts followed by
• Smithsonian Institution 1850s to 1870s
• U.S. Army Lake Survey 1858-1874
• U.S. Signal Service 1870-1891
• U.S. Weather Bureau 1891-1970
• National Weather Service 1970-present

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