Many Kansans own a rain gauge and check it periodically, but Leo Noland of Longton, KS in Elk County has been checking his rain gauge religiously for 40 years, and this week he got an award for his services.

Wichita Meteorologist-In-Charge Ken Cook and Observation Program Leader Scott Smith from the National Weather Service came to Longton this week to recognize Noland for his many years of service. Noland is one of more than 11,000 volunteers around the U.S. who collect weather data and send it to the National Centers for Environmental Information and to the Weather Data Library at Kansas State University.

The data provided by Observers is used for a wide variety of weather forecasts and studies plus business and media interests.