The Pikes Peak Weather Observers

Here in southern Colorado, we have a rich history of observing and recording the weather. In fact General William Palmer once said that no-one would ever accurately forecast the weather here accurately.

To overcome the General's pronouncement, we first needed to make extensive weather observations to give us the background to project weather conditions into the future, and the process began in the 1800s, with the Army's Telegraphers, stationed on Pikes Peak in the 1800s.

They were a brave, tough and creative bunch...and they needed to be.

On top of Pikes Peak, the climate is similar to what you would encounter in the Arctic.

The difference in temperature between the Springs and the top of the mountain is usually greater than between Colorado Springs and Reykjavik, Iceland,

and the US Army stationed telegraphers on the peak from 1873 to 1889, and these men were the astronauts of their time, living at what they thought of as the top of the atmosphere.

They reported wind speeds of over 100 mph at times, hailstones as big as pumpkins and thunder loud enough to deafen them for weeks at a time, though they may have exaggerated just a bit.

They certainly exaggerated some of the other reports they telegraphed to the rest of the world.

On December 6, 1873, Sergeant Robert Seyboth telegraphed a message that made headlines world wide..He said that as he was passing lake Moraine, he saw a huge sea serpent at least 100 feet long.

As he fled down the trail, he encountered several Utes who told him the monster was particularly fond of their tribe, having eaten 7 since March.

Sergeant Seyboth was creative, but he was an Amateur compared to Sergeant John O’Keefe, who reported Pikes Peak erupting (which is a pretty good trick, since it isn’t a volcano), and during the Summer of 1876, he telegraphed that on a particularly windy day, he and his wife had gone outside to pile more rocks on the roof of the signal station to keep it from blowing away. While they were outside, they said, the Pikes Peak Pack Rats ate their infant daughter. He followed it up with a sad photo of the grave and wooden headstone.

The report horrified a nation, until after a little checking it was discovered that there was no wife, no daughter, and that the Sergeant’s cat (which had died of natural causes) was buried beneath the pile of stones.

The US Army signal corps observers on Pikes Peak may have had a creative streak, but they also braved some of the harshest conditions on the planet and helped us to better understand this regions fascinating weather.

A trip to your local library will get you more information, and at least one volume cataloging the stories of Sgt. O'Keefe.