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Maine woman has been tracking weather for NOAA for 65 years

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March 9 (UPI) -- A 92-year-old Maine woman is marking nearly 65 years of serving as a weather watcher for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Arlene Cole of Newcastle said she took the position over from a friend who died and she has been tracking the weather for NOAA ever since. Her letter from NOAA certifying her as a weather observer arrived nearly 65 years ago, she said.

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NOAA relies on more than 7,000 volunteers across the country to track and report weather conditions.

"I've always been interested in the weather," Cole told WGME-TV. "I grew up on a farm, and farm weather is very important."

Cole said she measures and reports weather conditions every day at 5 p.m.

"At first, I visited the outdoor station every day, but now I can read the information from my kitchen counter," she told the Maine government last year. "I have two rain gauges, two white boards, a 24 inch measuring stick marked in tenths and a stake that can be inserted into the ground each fall so that numbers 1-60, an inch apart, can be read."

Cole said she plans to continue as a weather watcher for as long as she is able.

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"I take it a day at a time," she said.

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