Illinois State Water Survey - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Data Analysis

More data analysis of this wonderful resource will be posted soon.

Early Illinois Climate Records

Fort Armstrong 1820-1836

Fort Armstrong (1816-1836) was located on the present-day Rock Island Arsenal along the Mississippi River in northwest Illinois. A brief history of the fort can be found here. During that time, the Army kept daily records of temperature at 7 am, 2 pm, and 9 pm, as well as remarks above the weather. They are the oldest official weather records I've seen for a site in Illinois and date back to July 1820. The museum staff at the Rock Island Arsenal scanned the original images for us. Lauren Graham, University of Illiois Department of Atmospheric Science student, organized the images, developed the web page, and did additional analysis.

Images of Original Records

1820 Monthly Reports
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1821 Monthly Reports
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1822 Monthly Reports
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1823 Monthly Reports
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1824 Monthly Reports
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1825 Monthly Reports
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1826 Monthly Reports
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1827 Monthly Reports
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1828 Monthly Reports
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1829 Monthly Reports
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1830 Monthly Reports
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1831 Monthly Reports
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1832 Monthly Reports
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1833 Monthly Reports
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1834 Monthly Reports
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1835 Monthly Reports
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1836 Monthly Reports
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Data Plots

Monthly Averages Compared to Modern Record.
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