Sure, everyone talks about the weather, but every Feb. 5 we commemorate those who do it for a living.

Weatherpersons Day, also known as Weatherman’s Day, is celebrated on the birthday of John Jeffries, one of the country’s first weather observers.

Jeffries took detailed weather measurements in Boston every day from 1774 until his work was interrupted by the American Revolutionary War.

He lived in England from 1776 to 1790, then returned to the U.S. and resumed his daily measurements for another 26 years.
In 1784, Jeffries made the first balloon voyage over London to study the air at high altitudes.He took with him a reliable barometer, specially-made thermometer, mariner’s compass and seven small bottles to collect air samples at different heights.

He submitted his observations to the Royal Society for discussion and analysis.

Jeffries was also a surgeon, town treasurer, author, church deacon and avid book collector. He died in Boston in 1819, leaving behind one of the most valuable private libraries in the country.

Humans have always tried to predict the weather through the means and conventions available to them.

The Babylonians used cloud patterns and astrology.

Aristotle described weather patterns in his work, Meteorologica. His successor, Theophrastus, published The Book of Signs, a book on weather forecasting.

The Chinese and Indians also developed techniques for predicting the weather.

In 904, Ibn Wahshiyya, an Iraqi alchemist and agriculturalist, wrote about weather forecasting by observing atmospheric changes, planetary astral alterations, lunar phases and wind movement.

Until 1835, weather reports could travel only as fast as horses, trains and ships. The invention of the telegraph changed all that.

The telegraph allowed for nearly instantaneous transmission of weather information across great distances, allowing meteorologists to analyze the data and make forecasts far ahead of the storm.

Advances in the technology of measurement, transmission and analysis of data now allow increasing accuracy in both short- and long-range weather forecasting.

Many industries rely on the incalculable benefit of knowing the weather in advance: aviation, agriculture, the armed forces, insurance, health services and the like.

The morning weatherperson’s job is not for the fainthearted.

They typically start work at 4 a.m., spend several hours in briefings and poring over meteorological data, formulate event summaries and write their forecasts before taking to the airwaves.

They usually end their workday by early afternoon, though some also give presentations at schools after their shift.

1. How many U.S. states have a record high temperature in the triple digits?

2. How many U.S. states have a record low temperature below zero?

3. In what year were the first televised weather forecasts?

4. What is the highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica?

5. Which country experiences the most tornadoes?

6. With more than 4,000 hours of sunshine per year, which location is the sunniest place on Earth?

7. How many thunderstorms does the United States experience every year?

8. What diameter was the world’s largest snowflake?

9. What was the highest wind speed ever recorded in the U.S.?

10. How fast does a lightning bolt travel?

Answers:

1. 50. 2. 49 (Hawaii is the only exception). 3. 1936. 4. 59 degrees F. 5. United States. 6. Yuma, Ariz. 7. More than 100,000. 8. 14.9 inches (It fell in Montana in 1887). 9. 231 m.p.h. (in New Hampshire). 10. 60,000 miles per second.