In 1933, the Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace, with a science advisory group, told President Roosevelt that the Cooperative Program is one of the most extraordinary services ever developed, netting the public more per dollar expended than any other government service in the world. That statement is still valid today. It is estimated that their time totals over a million hours a year.
Climatological records get more valuable with time.
The climatological base generated through the efforts of the volunteer Cooperative Weather Observer provides not only the cornerstone of our nation's weather history, but also serves as the primary data for research into global climatic change. Today, the Cooperative Program is an integral part of the ongoing efforts to maintain a National Climatological Database, but that is not all. This program provides weather information to the many forecast offices and hydrological offices all across this nation. This information includes such things as daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, soil temperatures, evaporation readings and river stage readings. This information would not be possible if it were not for the dedicated efforts of volunteer observers all across the United States.