Museum marks 125th anniversary collecting weather data

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. – A Vermont museum is celebrating its 125th anniversary of collecting local weather data.

The Caledonian-Record reports the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury was hosting a ceremonial weather observation Friday.

The museum first started collecting temperatures, wind direction and precipitation in 1894 as part of a national effort led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Museum senior meteorologist Mark Breen says the hottest temperature recorded was 101 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) on July 3, 1911. The snowiest winter was in 2007-2008 when they recorded 139.7 inches of snowfall (3.5 metres).

As for the first day of record keeping on March 1, 1894, the daytime high was 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) and the low was 11 degrees (minus 11.6 degrees Celsius).

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Information from: The Caledonian-Record, http://www.caledonianrecord.com