Missouri State Climatologist Zack Leasor works in an office divided by time.
On the right sits the past — dozens of faded, scratched leather-bound books containing over 100 years of handwritten climate data. One page — July 15, 1936 — shows a high temperature of 111 degrees, the then-second-hottest day on record for the City of Columbia.
“Back then, because of the lack of technology, a climatologist was somebody just skilled enough to use [weather] instruments, get the measurements, record them well,” he said. “That took a lot of time.”
But today, Leasor spends far more time on the left side of his office, behind his computer. His dual monitors are often displaying weather models: precipitation, stream flow, soil moisture, crop conditions, and reservoir levels. He uses this data to, among other things, determine if there’s drought in Missouri.
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