Maryland Weather Service Reports

 

These volumes contain the best documented climate data for the state of Maryland up until 1907.

Thanks to the Library Project at Google Books, these volumes have been digitalized and made available to download in (.pdf) format.

To view a volume click the link below, to save your own copy right click and click "Save Link As".

 

Volume I: Climate Features of Maryland (1899)

Volume II: Climate Features of Baltimore (1907)

Volume III: The Plant Life of Maryland (1910)

Biennial Report 1 (1894)

 

 

History of the Maryland Weather Service

 

Mission Statement & Research Objectives

    The mission statement of the Maryland Weather Service was to thoroughly study the climate conditions of the state and their relation to it's population. There were nine areas of research the Maryland Weather Service would cover (quoted from Maryland Weather Service Report Volume 1, 1899):

1. Topography -- "A knowledge of the topography of a country is no less essential to the interpretation of its climate than to its geology, and legitimately forms part of a climatological study of a district as of a geological investigation."

2. Physiography -- "It is important that the physiographic characteristics of the state should be systematically investigated and the origin and distribution of our mountains, valleys and plains determined. These factors, which are so intimately connected with geology, have a marked bearing upon the climate as well."

3. Meteorology -- "The subject of meteorology is to the public mind largely regarded as the equivalent of climatology, and yet its province is confined to atmospheric conditions, and thus constitutes only a part of the much broader field of climatology. No questions of greater importance to the welfare of the community present themselves for study, however, than those of meteorology, as there is nothing which more influences the character and occupation of the people than temperature and rainfall."

4. Hydrography -- "The rainfall upon the surface of the land is variously disposed of, a part following the valleys directly to the sea, a part percolating through underground channels, a part being removed by evaporation, and a part being taken up by chemical changes in the earth's crust. In different areas these various factors have widely different values, dependent both upon the character of the rainfall and upon the physical conditions of the drainage basins."

5. Medical Climatology -- "The healthfulness of Maryland as a place of residence is a question of no small importance to those who may be considering the advisability of seeking homes in our midst, and actual facts should be presented in such a manner as to command their attention. ... It is the purpose of the Maryland Weather Service to have some expert upon medical climatology carefully study its record and prepare a report upon this subject, and already arrangements to this end have been perfected."

6. Agricultural Soils -- "The effects of temperature and rainfall are nowhere more profound than upon the surface rocks of the earth's crust.  ... The influence of meteorological conditions is always present in soils, and soil temperature and soil moisture are recognized as highly important factors in plant growth."

7. Forestry -- "The character and distribution of the forest growth of Maryland are mainly determined by the various climatological factors which have already been described. At the present time very little information is obtainable regarding the forests of the state, and a study of this question cannot fail to result in much practical benefit to the various agricultural and commercial interests of Maryland."

8. Crop Conditions -- "The study of the climatology of the state leads naturally to a consideration of its crop conditions, which more largely affect the agricultural interests of the state than any other single subject."

9. Flora and Fauna -- "It is the purpose of the Maryland Weather Service and Maryland Geological Survey, in co-operation with the State Horticultural Bureau, to prepare complete systematic reports upon the flora and fauna of the state, in which the relation of plant and animal distribution to geological and climatological conditions will constitute an important feature since it is believed that results of this kind will prove to be not only of economic but educational value to the people of the state."

Publications by the Maryland Weather Service

    During the term of the Maryland Weather Service it made several unique publications. Before the Maryland Weather Service was officially recognized as an organization, it published seven small monthly Meteorological Reports from May to November of 1891 and weekly Crop Bulletins from June 26th to September 25th of 1891. Following its official founding the Maryland Weather Service published the following:

 

Time Line of the Maryland Weather Service

& Maryland Weather Observations

 

Early Accounts of Weather in Maryland

Early Instrumental Observations in Maryland

Early Climatological Organizations in Maryland

Maryland Weather Service Timeline

 

 

References

Maryland Weather Service Report: Volume 1, 1899: Baltimore, The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD, 743 pgs.

Maryland Archives: Available Online at: http://www.aomol.net/html/manual.html, Accessed 15 October 2007.