Staff at the Washington State University Dryland Research Station at Lind earned kudos for logging 100 years of official weather data that helps farmers and scientists understand the past and prepare for the future.
In June, the National Weather Service presented the Lind Station with the “100-Year Honored Institution Award,” honoring the century of observations made at Lind.
Lind Farm manager Bruce Sauer and utility worker Brian Fode accepted the award Thursday, June 11, at Lind Station’s centennial celebration. The research station was founded through a land donation by Adams County farmers in 1915.
Come rain or shine, one of these men, Sauer or Fode, measures weather conditions at Lind every afternoon, seven days a week, year-round.
They check precipitation, wind and evaporation, factors that really matter to farmers working some of the state’s driest land.
Accurate and official weather data, recorded every day of the year, is an important tool for Lind researchers working to improve dryland farming, said Station director Bill Schillinger.
“We need to know, historically, what we can expect,” he said. Historic weather data allows Lind researchers to predict grain yields under given conditions. They’ve gained understanding of the importance of timing for precipitation, for example, learning that a given amount of rain occurring in May and early June is more important for wheat than that same amount of water stored in the soil during the winter.
“When we do experiments at Lind and we can tie it to accurate National Weather Service data, it really strengthens our research,” Schillinger said. “Being able to accurately gauge the correlation between grain yield and the timing and amount of precipitation is really key.”
“As we look at climate change, these 100 years of records from places like Lind are invaluable,” said John Livingston, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Spokane office, who presented the award.
Lind Station is just one of the National Weather Service’s cooperative network of observers, which has logged weather data for nearly 150 years. It is one of the oldest sites in the Inland Northwest to provide long-term data.
Notable weather at Lind Station
In the century of recorded weather data logged at Lind Dryland Research Station, there have been plenty of extremes. National Weather Service archives relate some of the wettest, dryest, hottest and coldest years in Lind’s history.
• High temperature: 113 degrees on August 4, 1961
• Low temperature: -26 degrees on January 26, 1957.
• Most rainfall: 1.61 inches on May 19, 1948
• Most snowfall: 12 inches on January 14, 1987
• Most snow on the ground: 22 inches on February 4, 1950
• Snowiest year: 41.5 inches, 1949-1950 (Sept. 1 – Aug. 31).
• Wettest year: 22.71 inches in 1947-1948 (Sept. 1 – Aug. 31).
• Driest year: 4.36 inches in 1976-1977 (Sept. 1 – Aug. 31).
• Learn more about Lind Dryland Research Station here.
• Learn more about the National Weather Service here.