Celebrating East Tennessee Weather History - Lecture by Grant Goodge

The East Tennessee Historical Society will host the spring meeting of the American Meteorological Society, Smoky Mountain Chapter, with a guest lecture on the historic weather kiosk located outside of the East Tennessee History Center. Grant Goodge, Climatologist for the National Climatic Data Center, will speak on “Celebrating East Tennessee Weather History—the further resurrection of the sole surviving U.S. Weather Bureau Kiosk, used for posting weather information before Radio, TV, and Internet.

The historic weather kiosk, located at the corner of Clinch Ave. and Market St. in downtown Knoxville just outside of the Old Custom House, has been identified as the oldest and last remaining U.S. Weather Bureau kiosk in its original location. Installed in 1912, the kiosk was one of 100 across the country that served as a way to distribute weather data and forecasts as well as other significant news such as WWI battles and casualties.

The East Tennessee Historical Society, the National Weather Service in Morristown, TN, and the American Meteorological Society, Smoky Mountain Chapter, were recently awarded a grant by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Heritage-Legacy Funding Program to preserve and protect the last remaining U.S. Weather Bureau kiosk in the nation and document its national and local history in Knoxville. Goodge will speak on the history of the instrument shelter, plans for refurbishing it, and the background on the instruments that were installed in this type of kiosk.

The program is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, or call 865-215-8824.