Tamaqua resident Ronald "Ron" Yurchak was presented the Dick Hagemeyer Award recently by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for serving 45 years as a cooperative weather observer through the National Weather Service's (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program (COOP).

For the last 46 years, Yurchak has donated his time every morning to record and keep track of important weather data, such as rainfall, temperatures and so on. Yurchak looks after and operates various weather equipment, called a cooperative station, in his back yard, to include a Fisher Porter rain gauge, which records hourly precipitation data on a paper tape, and Standard 8 Rain Gauge.The Dick Hagemeyer award was presented to Yurachak in honor of Dick Hagemeyer (1924-2001), whose career in NOAA spanned 51 years, the last 20 as Director of the Pacific Region. Early in his career, Hagemeyer served as a Cooperative Program Manager and was an ardent supporter of th COOP Program.The COOP was formally created in 1890 under the Organic Act, which was to provide observational meteorological data, usually consisting of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall, and 24-hour precipitation totals, required to define the climate of the United States and to help measure long-term climate changes, provide observational meteorological data in near real-time to support forecast, warning and other public service programs of the NWS, COOP observational data supports the NWS climate program and field operations. Some of the program responsibilities include selecting data sites, recruiting, appointing and training of observers, installing and maintaining equipment, keeping station documentation observer payroll, collecting data and its delivering it to users, maintaining data quality control, and managing fiscal and human resources required to accomplish program objectives.Yurchak is lauded with recording the third highest rainfall total for any month in Pennsylvania with 20.11 inches of rainfall in 2006. To his credit, Yurchak is also a past recipient of the John Campanius Holm Award. Paul Head, Observing Program Leader, NWS, said, "Ron's real-time weather data is used for flooding advisories, local government and contracting planning and construction, as well as providing officials local runoff and catch basin reports. His data is also used for emergency broadcasts.More than 11,000 volunteers, like Yurchak, take observations via cooperative stations on farms, in urban and suburban areas, National Parks, seashores and so on. A cooperative station is a site where observations are taken or other services rendered by volunteers or contractors. Observers are not required to take any tests. Aaron Tyburski, COOP Manager, said, "We are always looking for people willing to volunteer as a cooperative weather observer.Observers generally record temperature and precipitation daily and electronically send those reports daily to the NWS and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Many cooperative observers provide additional hydrological or meteorological data, such as evaporation or soil temperatures. Data is transmitted via telephone, computer or, in special cases, by mail. Equipment used at NWS cooperative stations may be owned by the NWS, the observer, or by a company or other government agency, as long as it meets NWS equipment standards.According to the NOAA's website, the first network of cooperative stations was set up as a result of an act of Congress in 1890 that established the Weather Bureau, but many COOP stations had started similiar operations long before. John Campanius Holm's weather records, taken without the benefit of instruments in 1644-45, were the earliest known observations in the United States. Subsequently many persons, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, maintained weather records. History books show that Thomas Jefferson maintained an almost unbroken record of weather observations between 1776 and 1816, and George Washington took his last observation just a few days before passing away.Volunteer weather observers conscientiously contribute their time so that observations can provide the vital information needed. These data are invaluable in learning more about the floods, droughts, heat and cold waves affecting us all. The data are also used in agricultural planning and assessment, engineering, environmental-impact assessment, utilities planning, and litigation. COOP data plays a critical role in efforts to recognize and evaluate the extent of human impacts on climate from local to global scales.Yurchak, who resides on Mahanoy Street, was also presented detailed citations from both Senator Dave Argall and Representative Jerry Knowles.When ask why he does it, Yurchak simply replied, "I love doing it."