Missoula Weather Forecast Office Records, 1935-1988

The collection contains daily meteorological observations from November 1935 to December 1988. Records from 1973 to 1975 are missing. Materials consist of Weather Bureau forms in bound volumes (1935-1978 and 1983-1988) and boxes (1945-1948 and 1979-1982), arranged chronologically. The meteorological observations include data such as temperature, barometric pressure, dewpoint, humidity, wind, precipitation, cloud type, visibility, and general weather conditions. The forms include notes on equipment maintenance and physical description of the various weather station locations.

WB Form 1001 (later 733j) includes daily records and a monthly summary. Form 1002 is an annual summary. Form 1014 is a daily local record, with index. Form 1130 (later WBAN 10) records airway weather observations. Pilot Reports (abbreviated PIREPS) are monthly reports on weather more than 1.5 miles from any airport runway. These reports appear from April 1950 to November 1962 but are not clearly titled as a separate form until 1959. Form 450-10 (later WS Form H-10) is a monthly equipment operation log. Many volumes include Weather Bureau instructions for preparing the forms, a typed narrative summary of the month's weather, and typed instructions for preparing the daily local record index. Volumes from 1949 on include Forms 1001 and 1130 only; Forms 1002, 1014, and indexes no longer appear. Equipment operation logs appear from 1968 to 1982. Descriptions of the weather station locations and instrumentation appear on various forms throughout the collection.

Volumes 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16 include both airport and city office observations, reflecting the two observation stations that were operating from 1939 to 1944. Corrections are occasionally noted for a previous month.