Weather Mapping - History

History

Weather maps first came in use in the last third of the nineteenth century when the invention of the telegraph made the transmission of weather data from far-flung observing points possible. In 1870 the newly created National Weather Service produced weather maps for limited regions of the United States.

In Norway, Vilhelm and Jakob Bjerknes developed one of the most successful early weather mapping systems. The Bjerknes convinced the Norwegian government to set up weather stations in strategically important areas throughout their country. Data from these stations was telegraphed to Bergen, where it was assembled and used to produce some of the most complete weather maps available at the time.