Town to continue role as observer for National Weather Service

Should the town continue to be a reporting weather station for the National Weather Service?  That question was a topic of discussion at the Jan. 9 meeting of the Basin Town Council. 

Town foreman Tony Harrison proposed the town stop being a weather station for the National Weather Station. He was concerned the town crew wouldn’t have time. There is a paper log that is filled out daily with low temp, high temp and trace of precipitation according to Harrison.  The council’s discussion included the NWS moving the station to town hall at no charge, training and possible overtime for readings on weekends.  Harrison said the report is submitted once a month. It does store three days of data so the crew wouldn’t have to come in on the weekends. 

Mayor CJ Duncan said the question is whether the town should continue to provide the service. Any discussion about moving, etc., would depend on the answer to that question.  His thought was that the town should continue. The NWS has a long log of data from Basin. Councilman Chuck Hopkin agreed the town should continue. 

Councilman Mike Dellos said the town has done it for 50 years. When he read it for the town, he never charged for overtime nor has the town had to put a bunch of money into it. “We get rain on weekends; we get snow on weekends … it seems like it is a tough job to do that. It hasn’t been. I think we ought to commit to keeping the weather. The moisture that we get, that’s the moisture they (the NWS) go by for the year.” He said this is true of the temperature and snowfall, too.

The council voted to remain a weather station.