Internet rainfall maps and the Weather Channel are all fine and good, but if you really want to know about inclement weather bruising the horizon west of Carthage, go shake Dwayne Beaver’s hand and listen to what he has to say.

Because nobody else in Carthage has glimpsed more approaching storms, more hail atop roofs or more tornados touch down than Beaver has.

Tuesday morning, Beaver was presented with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) award for 15 years as a cooperative observer for the National Weather Service.

What does all that mean? Each morning — rain, snow or shine — Beaver goes out to his back yard to his homemade weather station, much of it using top-of-the-line NOAA equipment,             to jot down daily precipitation and temperature totals. He then goes back inside and records the numbers online with the National Weather Service Office in Springfield for data collection. In his yard includes an eight-inch rain gauge, wind gauge, various thermometers and anemometers.”

Day in and day out — 365 days a year, he does this, among many other weather-related duties. 

“I love it,” he said with a shrug. “I really do. Keeps me out of trouble, and I’ve always wanted to be involved with the weather service.”

Carthage’s weather station was first established on March 1, 1940, by the Congressional Statutes enacted by Congress in 1890, and for years was located out at the Carthage animal shelter. Only after Beaver began weather observer duties on May 25, 1994, did it move to his house at 623 E. Third Street.

Beaver, said Larry Dooley, observing program leader from the National Weather Service in Springfield, “is certainly in good company. Many Americans such as Professor John Winthrop of Harvard, Statesman Benjamin Franklin, Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and explorers Lewis and Clark were engaged as daily weather observers.

“The success of our climatological program,” Dooley continued, “is due in great measure to conscientious citizens like Dwayne. The records furnished by him (has) added to our knowledge of the climate of the state of Missouri and of the United States.”

The Carthage weather station is one of 96 such stations in 37 counties in Missouri and Kansas. There are 10,000 stations nationwide.

Beaver also has cameras installed on the roof of his house looking south for any sign of menacing storm clouds. Inside his “Man Cave” sits several computer screens showing the latest weather maps as well as live weather cams from nearly 60 locations peppering Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

When a tornado shoved its way into downtown Oklahoma City back in May, 1999, Beaver was able to access a weather camera “and saw the funnel right there in front of me. I spoke a lot of French right then.”

As a member of MoKan Skywarn, Beaver is one of the first men to spot and warn of approaching storms, relaying important information over the repeater, which is then retransmitted on the Web. He also passes on weather-related information on his ham radio. The Mokan Skywarn group is comprised of many local amateurs that are involved in other local organizations.

“This stuff keeps me busy,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t do this.”