Amherst College Weather Station Records, 1835-1924, 1948-
General International Standard for Archival Description
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarah Sorscher. 2002-07-25
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Amherst College Weather Station Records
1 archives box, 1 half archives box, 7 volumes
Amherst College
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Amherst College Weather Records contain the climatological data recorded by Professor Ebenezer Strong Snell (Class of 1822) and his daughter Sabra Snell from 1835 to 1902; observations recorded by the Hatch Experimental Station at the Massachusetts Agricultural College from 1891 to 1924; and by Dr. Philip Ives (Class of 1932) from 1984 to date. Professor Snell's original ledgers contain his weather observations noted at least twice daily in the morning and the afternoon. These are among the earliest on record for Massachusetts. After Snell's death in 1876, the work was carried on by his daughter until 1902. The observations from the Massachusetts Agricultural College cover from 1891 to 1924. In October 1948, Dr. Philip Ives began to collect climatological data at the college weather station. This continues to date.
series
Series 1: METEOROLOGICAL JOURNALS, 1835-1902
Series 1: METEOROLOGICAL JOURNALS, 1835-1902, contains 5 volumes, arranged chronologically. The data in the volumes include: data, hour, barometer, thermometer, wind direction and strength, clouds, sky, precipitation, and remarks.
Bound Volume 1 1835-1843
Bound Volume 2 1844-1860
Bound Volume 3 1861-1882
Bound Volume 4 1883-1897
Bound Volume 5 1898-1902
Series 2: HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
Series 2: HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 1891-1924, contains two volumes, arranged chronologically. The data in the volume include: monthly summaries and daily summaries which list barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, weather conditions, bright sunshine, and halos. There is also a remarks page at the end of each month.
Bound Volume 1 1891-1909
Bound VOlume 2 1909-1924
Series 3: PUBLICATIONS, COMPILATIONS & SUMMARIES
Series 3: PUBLICATION, COMPILATIONS, AND SUMMARIES, contains materials compiled by Dr. Philip Ives: compilations and summaries of weather data; articles and talks and a monograph prepared by Dr. Ives and news clippings of published Amherst weather data. Also contains THE CLIMATE OF AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS, 1836-1985, by Raymond S. Bradley, Jon K. Eischeid and Philip T. Ives, a 108-page volume containing tables, figures and plates, published in August 1986 as Contribution No. 50 of the Department of Geology & Geography, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It acknowledges Dr. Ives as the "driving force behind this publication" and explains how his work with the records kept at Amherst College and those kept by the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station in the late 19th Century have made the Amherst records one of the most important meteorological series in the country. Material is arranged by subject and type.
"Foreword to the daily weather records," by Philip Ives 1973
Preface to the Amherst, Mass. Weather records 1981
"The changing climate in the Connecticut River Valley," by Philip Ives 1979
Monthly precipitation and mean temperature data 1836-1980
Annual mean temperature 1837-1998;
Summary of weather for June, July and August 1870
News clippings: "Weather in Amherst, "quarterly, seasonal and annual reports as they appeared in the weekly Amherst Journal and other publications 1949-1982
The Climate of Amherst, Massachusetts 1836-1985
Series 4: DAILY WEATHER DATA
Series 4: DAILY WEATHER DATA, 1948 to date, contains records of the minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures; degree-days; precipitation; and a general description of the weather.
Daily Weather Data 1948-1987
Daily Weather Data 1988
Daily Weather Data 1989
Daily Weather Data 1990
Daily Weather Data 1991
Daily Weather Data 1992
Daily Weather Data 1993
Daily Weather Data 1994
Daily Weather Data 1995
Daily Weather Data 1996
Daily Weather Data 1997
Daily Weather Data 1998