Weather stations have been operating in the United States since at least 1849 when The Smithsonian Institution began supplying weather instruments to telegraph companies. Weather data collection later became the responsibility of the U.S. Army and is now under the control of the National Weather Service, a division of the Department of Commerce.

Early weather data collection was done manually by people on the ground. Forecasters, who needed more information about what was happening in the skies, began using kites to measure temperatures above the ground. They would simply tie thermometers or other instruments to the kite. After letting it fly for a while, they would reel in the kite and record data taken by the instruments.

By the 1940’s military aircraft were being used to make high altitude observations. In the 1960’s the National Weather Service got its first weather satellite and forecasting major weather events became easier. Despite these advances the technology for measuring weather on the ground had changed little.