For 25 years, Waimea Valley staff have recorded and reported valley temperatures and rainfall data to the National Weather Service, and this week they will be recognized for their service by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

The Institutional Award for continuous service will be presented Friday.

The valley has a NOAA weather gauge and every morning a staff member calls in the readings to the National Weather Service. Once a month, the local weather office sends all the information to the National Climactic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., to be entered into a national public database.

The value of climate readings increases over time, which is why 25 years of continuous service is important to NOAA and the National Weather Service, said Gail Ann Chew, interim executive director of Hi'ipaka LLC, the nonprofit organization that operates Waimea Valley. The information generated through volunteer organizations provides not only a cornerstone of the nation's weather history, but also serves as the primary data research into global climatic change, Chew said.