History

It all started with Helmut Erich Landsberg. During the 1950s, Landsberg was both concerned about strengthening the value of climatology to meteorologists and interested in establishing a National State Climatology Program. Climatology during the 1950s was a wide-open landscape, and he and others, such as American climatologist C.W. Thornthwaite, were driven by the prospect of defining its future value to American society…From Henderson, 2016.

The purpose of the state climatology program was to place a trained climatologist in each state to conduct climatological research and provide useful information directly to industries, individual farmers, and state policymakers. The state climatology program reflected his clear ambition to integrate climatology -and climatologists- into national decision-making…From Henderson, 2016.

Landsberg initiated the program of State Climatologists in 1954, when he was the director of Climatology at the Weather Bureau from 1954 to 1965. Landsberg diversified the data holdings by establishing regional centers, providing additional means for more rapid data accessibility to users…From Baer, 1986.

Landsberg joined the University of Maryland as a research professor in 1967 and concurrently held several administrative posts. He served as the acting director of the Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics. Subsequently, he became the director of the Meteorology Program, which evolved from that Institute (and is the predecessor of the current Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department). In 1976, he retired from the university and began his final career as a professor emeritus, maintaining his intensity…From Baer, 1992.

NOAA was created in 1970 and the State Climatologist program was terminated on April 16, 1973. Then, each state government was asked to support a State Climatologist at the local level to provide the services eliminated by the NWS…From Waite, 1997.