Harald (90) has reported the weather for 75 years – NRK

He is the weather observers held on the longest of all. Only 15 years old he started with the daily tominuttersjobben. In 1940 he took over the then ten year old weather station at the Barony Rosendal, when the old weather observer Barony gardener, died in an accident.

– I can not believe it’s been so long

– Since then, the weather station in Rosendal been in my garden here at Mel, next to the Barony. It is unbelievable that it’s been so long, but one day we went with him the other. When I first started with it, then I just hold on, says Harald.

Yesterday, it was the day 75 years ago he took over the responsibility job. Home on the kitchen table is old precipitation diaries, where Harald with neatly scripture have noted down rainfalls over the years.

– I have enough not measured absolutely every day, but 99 percent, he estimates.

It would mean that the 90-year-old sent from approximately 27.120 rainfall reports.

HONOR: Meteorological Department says that no one has reported weather reports as long as Harald. Here from a notebook from from 1940.

Photo: Marte Rommetveit / NRK

Reports on sms

The first years were the measurement results for Rosendal noted down on a card, but after a short time he went over to notebooks. In recent years, technology has taken over.

– When I fell a little and had to get help to send it on like sms or whatever they call it. On the Internet. I do not understand that, I said Harald.

Listen reportage from then NRK Marte Rommetveit visited 90-year-old:

Outside windows hangs four thermometers. But even if the man of the house has Norwegian record in weather rating, claiming 90-year-old that he is not particularly interested in the weather.

FAITHFUL: 90-year-old says he has measured precipitation 99 percent of all days from 1940 to today.

Photo: Marte Rommetveit / NRK

– I’m more concerned with temperature than precipitation, he said.

– Is it sad to give up now?

– Yes, it will I say. But when one has reached my age, I have to be prepared that it will now be completed soon. That suits us well to wind up now while I still live, says Harald.

Honoured by the employer

Although the main character himself does not like so much attention, he got last week visit of Ted Torfors at the Department for observation services at Meteorological Institute. When the company took the flowers, book and many praised the 90-year-old.

– I wanted to give a personal thanks to Harald, who has been my favorite observer. I was particularly impressed when he as 85-year-old learned to send daily figures on sms, says Torfors to local newspaper Grenda.

In October the neighbor takes in January Eik over the job of reporting rainfall from Rosendal. In total Meteorological Institute 300 weather observers around Norway.