NWS Huntsville History. The history of weather observing in Huntsville dates back to the some of the city's earliest years of existence. The earliest documented observations began in January of at an unknown location in the city and continued to be taken until December of Observations briefly resumed at another unknown location in June of These lasted only until August 31, Steady observations in the Huntsville-Madison County area didn't begin until , when a cooperative observing site was established in Madison.
The thermometer at this site was situated on the north side of the porch, so the readings were probably unreliable. However, precipitation data recorded at this station was considered valid, and it is a part of the climatological record.
In , the site was moved to the Klish residence. This station was equipped with a Stevenson Screen enclosure for the thermometer. The station moved again several times - in , three times in , in , and in - all to locations in the same vicinity. Over this time period L.
Hagar, R. Patton, J. Stevenson, Edward Humphrey, S. Fletcher Bradley, and James Landers were listed as observers. On March 19, , Mr. Thomas Carter, who lived on Church Street a quarter mile south of the Madison Post Office, took over official observations. This site continued to operate until observations resumed in the city of Huntsville in Carter's nearly continuous daily evening observations spanned some of the hottest months in the history of the state, including the summer of In September of that year, the high temperature was or greater on 12 days!
The hottest day was the 7th, when the temperature reached a balmy degrees. The Carter family continued taking observations in the Madison area until April of This station was located less than a mile southwest of the post office on Canal Street. In , utility operations in Huntsville were bought by the city and contracted to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
