Maine woman, 96, retires after 60 years of reporting weather to NOAA

Arlene Cole sits at her dining table to record the weather in November 2022. Image Credit: Marjorie Turner / Lincoln County News/BANGOR Daily News Arlene Cole spent more than six decades recording the weather from her home in Newcastle, Maine, turning a simple daily routine into a remarkable archive of local conditions. At 96, she has now retired from her work as a volunteer weather observer for the NOAA and the National Weather Service. Her final report came after more than 60 years of measuring temperatures, rain and snow and sending the information to others. For Cole, the work had become an ordinary part of life, but her records have also created a detailed picture of weather in her community.How did Arlene Cole record weather for more than 60 yearsCole officially began making observations in 1965, when NOAA provided a weather station for her home on Academy Hill Road. According to the Bangor Daily News, she recorded the temperature and measured precipitation every evening at 5pm. She also began supplying weather reports to The Lincoln County News that same year.Her first official entry dates back to May 13, 1965. The Bangor Daily News reported that her notes for that day recor...