Bield Fell, since 1953
Six years, read across. On one track the observatory’s own log; on the other, what the wider field was doing in the same year.
At the station
Year
In the field
Two observers, a Stevenson screen and a barograph read at nine every morning.
1953
The first numerical forecast runs on a machine and takes longer than the weather did.
A second observer joins and the log doubles. Every later series is measured against it.
1968
Cloud pictures arrive from orbit daily, and forecasting becomes a view from above.
The mast goes up, and wind is finally measured where the wind actually is.
1979
Ships, buoys and balloons are logged as one global experiment for the first time.
Four people spend two winters turning the paper log into a file anyone can query.
1994
Long records leave the storerooms and start arguing about the climate in public.
Sensors report every minute. Someone still walks up at nine to see if they are lying.
2006
Reanalysis runs old observations through new models, and small stations become inputs.
Not one missing day, through two power cuts, one fire and a very bad February.
2021
The long, patient records are what the models are tested against, not the other way round.