The National Park Service has been working for some time to restore the Hatteras U.S. Weather Bureau Station to its original look and feel. With the recent completion of the metal warning tower, the building and grounds are back to the what would have been seen in 1902 when it officially opened.
The Hatteras Weather Bureau Station was the first in a series of station that the Weather Bureau planned. Built for a little more than $5100—about $158,000 in 2023 dollars—the structure was a prefab two story building. The downstairs were the living quarters for the Weather Bureau employee and family and had three bedrooms and living room.
The second floor was an observation deck with an internal stairwell.
The signal tower was particularly important. This was a time before radio or any other form of remote communication. To tell ships on the water or about to leave dock of expected storms, a warning flag would be flown from the tower.
The warning tower was also designed to alert residents of approaching storms, although the warning often came just hours before the event occurred. A far cry from today’s systems that war five days or more of approaching storms.
The Hatteras Weather Bureau Station was staffed until 1940. The advent of radio and more sophisticated means of communication meant a weather station at a remote location like Hatteras was no longer needed.
The original tower was removed in the 1980s after it partially collapsed.
Today the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station is the operated by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau in a cooperative agreement with the NPS as an information center.
The U.S. Weather Service was the predecessor to NOAA.
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