Maine woman has been tracking weather for NOAA for 65 years

A 92-year-old Maine woman is marking nearly 65 years of serving as a weather watcher for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Arlene Cole of Newcastle said she took the position over from a friend who died and she has been tracking the weather for NOAA ever since. Her letter from NOAA certifying her as a weather observer arrived nearly 65 years ago, she said.

NOAA relies on more than 7,000 volunteers across the country to track and report weather conditions.

"I've always been interested in the weather," Cole told WGME-TV. "I grew up on a farm, and farm weather is very important."

Cole said she measures and reports weather conditions every day at 5 p.m.

"At first, I visited the outdoor station every day, but now I can read the information from my kitchen counter," she told the Maine government last year. "I have two rain gauges, two white boards, a 24 inch measuring stick marked in tenths and a stake that can be inserted into the ground each fall so that numbers 1-60, an inch apart, can be read."

Cole said she plans to continue as a weather watcher for as long as she is able.

"I take it a day at a time," she said.