Missoula Weather Forecast Office Records, 1935-1988

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Missoula Weather Forecast Office
Title
Missoula Weather Forecast Office Records
Dates
1935-1988 (inclusive)
Quantity
9.0 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 227 (collection)
Summary
The collection contains daily meteorological observations from the Missoula office of the Weather Bureau from November 1935 to December 1988.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Missoula office of the U.S. Weather Bureau was established on November 1, 1935, in the Montana Building at 101 Broadway. On November 1, 1938, the office moved one block to the Federal Building. From July 1, 1939, to October 1, 1941, weather observations were also recorded by Civil Aeronautics Administration personnel at Hale Field; this station moved to the Missoula County Airport effective October 1, 1941. The two weather stations were consolidated when the Weather Bureau office moved to the Missoula County Airport on December 1, 1944.

The Weather Bureau was established in 1870. It was under the authority of the Army Signal Service/Signal Corps until 1891, when it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1940 the Weather Bureau was transferred to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In Missoula, before establishment of the Weather Bureau office, weather observations were made by the U.S. Army at Fort Missoula from April 1893 to May 1898. From May 1898 to November 1935, weather observations were made by University of Montana Professor Morton J. Elrod and his students at his home on West Fifth Street South in Missoula.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection contains daily meteorological observations from November 1935 to December 1988. Records from 1973 to 1975 are missing. Materials consist of Weather Bureau forms in bound volumes (1935-1978 and 1983-1988) and boxes (1945-1948 and 1979-1982), arranged chronologically. The meteorological observations include data such as temperature, barometric pressure, dewpoint, humidity, wind, precipitation, cloud type, visibility, and general weather conditions. The forms include notes on equipment maintenance and physical description of the various weather station locations.

WB Form 1001 (later 733j) includes daily records and a monthly summary. Form 1002 is an annual summary. Form 1014 is a daily local record, with index. Form 1130 (later WBAN 10) records airway weather observations. Pilot Reports (abbreviated PIREPS) are monthly reports on weather more than 1.5 miles from any airport runway. These reports appear from April 1950 to November 1962 but are not clearly titled as a separate form until 1959. Form 450-10 (later WS Form H-10) is a monthly equipment operation log. Many volumes include Weather Bureau instructions for preparing the forms, a typed narrative summary of the month's weather, and typed instructions for preparing the daily local record index. Volumes from 1949 on include Forms 1001 and 1130 only; Forms 1002, 1014, and indexes no longer appear. Equipment operation logs appear from 1968 to 1982. Descriptions of the weather station locations and instrumentation appear on various forms throughout the collection.

Volumes 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16 include both airport and city office observations, reflecting the two observation stations that were operating from 1939 to 1944. Corrections are occasionally noted for a previous month.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document], Missoula Weather Forecast Office Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana--Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in a single series.

Custodial History

Materials in this collection remained in the possession of the USWB Missoula office until donation to the K. Ross Toole Archives.

Acquisition Information

Gift of United States Weather Bureau, Missoula, 1978, 1982, and 1991

Processing Note

During original processing the four boxes containing Form 1130 (Original Record of Airway Observations, 1945-1948) were considered a separate series from the bound volumes. In 1998 all collection materials were chronologically integrated into one series and re-described.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Volume
1 1935
2 1936
3 1936
4 1937
5 1937
6 1938
7 1938
8 1939
9 1939
10 1940
11 1940
12 1941
13 1941
14 1942
15 1943
16 1944
17 1944
18 1945
Box
1 1945
Volume
19 1946
Box
2 1946
Volume
20 1947
Box
3 1947
Volume
21 1948
Box
4 1948
Volume
22 1948
23 1949
24 1950
25 1951
26 1952
27 1953
28 1954
29 1955
30 1956
31 1957
32 1958
33 1959
34 1960
35 1961
36 1962
37 1963
38 1964
39 1965
40 1966
41 1967
42 1968
43 1969
44 1970
45 1971
46 1972
47 1976
48 1977
49 1978
50 1979
51 1980
52 1981
53 1982
54 1983
55 1984
56 1985
57 1986
58 1987
59 1988

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Meteorological services--Montana--Missoula
  • Weather forecasting--Montana--Missoula

Geographical Names

  • Missoula (Mont.)--Climate

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names
    • United States. National Weather Service
    • United States. Weather Bureau