U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for February 5

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5: EARLY WEATHER OBSERVER

Profile America -- Saturday, February 5th.  Today marks the birthday in 1744 of one of America's first meteorologists -- John Jeffries, a Boston doctor who kept detailed records of weather conditions.  And this month in 1870, President Grant signed a congressional resolution establishing the ancestor of today's National Weather Service.  The first official public weather forecast was made a year later.  Now, just about everyone listens to radio or television to find out what the weather is apt to be, not only for today but for the next week.  And it's no wonder we're interested -- in a recent 5-year period, 190 people across the U.S. were killed by lightning strikes, 353 by floods and 347 by tornadoes.  Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 118

www.nws.noaa.gov/pa/history/signal.php

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 384

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau