Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
The longest continuous weather record in North America
The story
Before you is the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory. It was founded by the meteorologist Abbott Lawrence Rotch, an MIT graduate, as a private scientific station. Regular observations began on February 1, 1885, and have never stopped since. It is the longest continuous weather record in North America. From here, scientists learned to look into the upper air. On August 4, 1894, a kite lifted a thermograph, an instrument that records temperature on its own, to about 2,030 feet. In 1938, during the Great New England Hurricane, the observatory’s instruments recorded a gust of 186 miles per hour, almost 300 kilometers per hour. Until 1971 the observatory was run by Harvard University. In 1989 it was named a National Historic Landmark. Observations go on today. From here the trail leads back to the museum the same way.
Visiting
Tours run on Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00–16:00; details at bluehill.org. There is a café and a shop at the summit.
On the trail
- Great Blue Hill — about 1.6 miles (2.5 km) round trip, 1–1.5 h
Sources
- Wikipedia — Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory: observations since February 1, 1885, kites, the 1938 hurricane, National Historic Landmark since 1989
- Blue Hill Observatory & Science Center — the longest continuous weather record in North America, tours
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