FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
Contacts: Carolyn McCormick, Managing Director Aaron Tuell, Public Relations
Outer Banks Visitors Bureau Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
252-473-2138 252-473-2138
mccormick@outerbanks.org tuell@outerbanks.org
U.S. Weather Bureau Station Celeberates 1st Anniversary
Hatteras Island Welcome Center Provides Visitor Information And Meteorological History
HATTERAS VILLAGE, NC (July 7, 2008) The U.S. Weather Bureau Station – Hatteras, NC has reached yet another milestone in its chronicled service to America, providing visitor information and historical interpretation for a full year. The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau partnered with the National Park Service to re-open the U.S. Weather Bureau Station – Hatteras, NC to the public on July 1, 2007 as a facility for travelers entering the southern corridor of the Outer Banks, and as an historical site telling the beginnings of the nation’s meteorological service.
“This historic treasure has long been an integral part of the Hatteras community in several different incarnations since its construction,” says Carolyn McCormick, Managing Director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. “To reintroduce her back to the public in the characteristic fit and finish of the barrier islands at the turn of the 20th century is not only our pleasure but priviledge. Over 5,000 people have stopped in over the course of the past twelve months. Its has all been very rewarding as well as functional.”
Originally opened on January 1, 1902, the U.S. Weather Bureau Station – Hatteras, NC played a key role in America’s fledgling weather reporting network until decommissioned in 1946. Historically significant events include the received distress call from the Titanic on April 14, 1912 and an early wireless communication with the U.S.S. Arizona in 1918 as the naval vessel sailed from Cuba for Norfolk, VA.
Today, visitors to the Outer Banks can learn how Americans got their weather in the days of the Wright Brothers. Because of the nature of seafaring trade and commerce, and the natural challenges that mariners once faced in the Graveyard of the Atlantic off the coast of Cape Hatteras, the Outer Banks has always been on the cutting edge of weather reporting and technology. A similar station in Kitty Hawk, NC reported the sixth strongest winds in the country in 1903, the year the Wright Brothers achieved the first powered flight.
To learn more, click on www.outerbanks.org or call 877-629-4386.
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About The Outer Banks
The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a 130 mile chain of barrier islands located midway on the Atlantic Coast. The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is a public authority and the lead marketing and promotional agency for Dare County's Outer Banks. www.outerbanks.org