RAIN GAUGES
Rainfall Rescue
In March 2020, 16,000 volunteers typed up 5.2 million handwritten rainfall readings from the Met Office archive in just 16 days.
See the numbersA PLAIN-ENGLISH GUIDE TO WEATHER RECORDS
Every reading counts,
even from 1836.
For centuries, people wrote the weather down by hand.
Victorian rain gauge keepers, Royal Navy officers and today's weather stations all log the same things. Volunteers have now typed up millions of old handwritten readings, and the UK rainfall record reaches back to 1836 as a result.
See how it was rescued Read the short answer
01 Write it down02 Type it up03 Check it twiceOld records, new science
THE SHORT ANSWER
Logged by hand,
rescued by volunteers.
Three kinds of weather logger,
across two centuries.
SHIP'S LOGS
Old Weather
Volunteers transcribed Royal Navy logbooks from 1913 to 1923, recovering around 7 million weather observations from about 350,000 pages.
Read the story
TODAY
Weather stations
The Met Office runs more than 350 weather stations, and anyone with their own station can share readings on its Weather Observations Website.
Log your ownHOW OFTEN?
How often is
the weather logged?
Pick a kind of record. The value shows how often a reading is logged, and the bar shows how fine-grained the record is, from monthly totals to a reading every minute.
Figures from the Met Office and the University of Reading.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Millions of readings,
typed by volunteers.
One project on land,
one at sea.
RAINFALL RESCUE · MET OFFICE, 2022
Rainfall observations typed up in 16 days
5.2<small> million</small>
About 16,000 volunteers transcribed 130 years' worth of handwritten readings during the first Covid-19 lockdown, around 100 million keystrokes in all.
OLD WEATHER · ROYAL NAVY LOGS, 2010–2012
Weather observations rescued from ship's logs
≈ 7<small> million</small>
More than 16,000 volunteers transcribed about 350,000 logbook pages from 305 ships. Each page was transcribed three times to check accuracy.
The rescued rainfall data extended the Met Office's official UK rainfall series back 26 years, from 1862 to 1836, and raised the number of rain gauges for 1862 from 19 to more than 700.
START YOUR OWN WEATHER LOG
Pick a good spot,
then share it.
Home readings are not used for official records, but the Met Office says they help forecasters watch local events like heavy snow or rain. These steps come from Met Office guidance.
- Choose open, level groundThe best sites are free from trees, buildings and steep slopes. Buildings can warm readings and trees can shelter instruments from wind or sun.
- Avoid hollows and hilltopsValleys known as frost hollows can exaggerate overnight cold, and hilltops can record winds that do not represent the wider area.
- Read at the same timeOfficial manual stations are read once a day at 0900 GMT, or 1000 BST. Keeping a fixed time makes your log comparable day to day.
- Share on WOWThe Met Office's Weather Observations Website, backed by the Royal Meteorological Society and the Department for Education, takes manual and automatic readings.
WHAT THE OLD LOGS REVEALED
New records
from old paper.
Rainfall Rescue made 1855 the UK's driest year on record, at 786.5 mm, beating 1887. It moved England's driest May from 2020 (9.6 mm) back to 1844 (8.3 mm), and confirmed November and December 1852 as exceptionally wet.
The observers were volunteers too. Lady Bayning of Honingham Hall in Norfolk logged rainfall from 1835 to 1887, even taking her gauge to London for the social season. Systematic UK-wide logging began in the 1860s, when George Symons set up the British Rainfall Organisation.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Frequently asked
What was Rainfall Rescue?
A University of Reading project launched in March 2020. About 16,000 volunteers transcribed 5.2 million handwritten rainfall readings from the Met Office archive in 16 days. The data was added to the official national record in 2022.
Why do scientists want old weather records?
The Met Office says longer records help it understand extremes such as drought and floods, and the risks from climate change. Hawkins says the data helps show long-term trends and flood risk across the UK and Ireland.
What did Royal Navy logbooks record?
A typical Old Weather record included air temperature, wet-bulb temperature, pressure, wind speed and direction and a present weather code, sometimes with sea temperature and sea state. Volunteers also transcribed notes on life on board.
Can my home weather station count towards official records?
No. The Met Office says amateur stations cannot be considered for official records because they are not held to the same standards. You can still share readings on WOW, where they help forecasters watch local events.
Why were the records typed by people, not computers?
Many were written in ornate or hard-to-read handwriting that needed human eyes. Old Weather had each page transcribed three times, and its organisers found volunteer transcription no less accurate than professional work.
SOURCES
Where the facts come from
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below. Check them for the full detail and context.
- Met Office: Victorian rainfall data rescued (2022)
- University of Reading: Rescued Victorian rainfall data smashes former records
- Transcription methods review: oldWeather, Royal Navy logbooks 1913–1923
- University of Sheffield, Life of Data: Old Weather data journey
- Met Office: Weather stations, how we measure the weather (2025)
- Met Office WOW: Frequently asked questions