According to a DNA test I took, I am related to Thomas Jefferson on my German father’s side. Weird. Jefferson may have been our most prolific presidential weather enthusiast. He kept a daily weather diary and reportedly purchased 20 thermometers in his lifetime.
On Presidents’ Day we also salute President Ulysses S. Grant for ordering the military to begin tracking weather in 1870. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison moved the weather bureau to the Department of Agriculture, which would later become the National Weather Bureau and then the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1970. A primary motivator: America needed better warnings of deadly, damaging storms in advance, a mission that continues to this day.
No heavy weather here anytime soon, just another extended thaw. Expect highs in the 40s this week with a few days near 50 early next week. Late March comes early this year, but at this point, why not? No snow in sight, but maybe a little rain in one week.
