10 Jun 2025
| 10 Jun 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
Abstract. Archives of observed weather data present unique opportunities for scientists to obtain long time series of the historical climate for many regions of the world. Unfortunately, most of these observational records are to-date available only on paper, and thus require digitization and transcription to facilitate analysis of climatic trends. Here we present a new open-sour…
10 Jun 2025
| 10 Jun 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
Abstract. Archives of observed weather data present unique opportunities for scientists to obtain long time series of the historical climate for many regions of the world. Unfortunately, most of these observational records are to-date available only on paper, and thus require digitization and transcription to facilitate analysis of climatic trends. Here we present a new open-source software, MeteoSaver, that uses machine learning (ML) algorithms to transcribe handwritten records of historical weather data. MeteoSaver version 1.0 processes images of tabular sheets alongside user-defined configuration settings, performing transcription through five sequential steps: (i) image pre-processing, (ii) table and cell detection, (iii) transcription, (iv) quality assessment and quality control, and (v) data formatting and upload. As an illustration and evaluation of the software, we apply MeteoSaver to ten pictured sheets of handwritten temperature observations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The results show that 95–100 % of the records can be transcribed, of which a median of 74.4 % reached the highest internal quality flag and 74 % matches with the manually transcribed record, yielding a median mean absolute error of 0.3 °C. These results illustrate that MeteoSaver can be applied to a range of handwriting styles and varying tabular dimensions, paper sizes, and maintenance conditions, highlighting its potential for transcribing tabular meteorological observations from multiple regions, especially if the sheets have a consistent format. Overall, our open-source software can help address the challenges of limited available hydroclimatic data within many regions of the world, by helping to save millions of handwritten records of historical weather data presently stored in archives, and expedite research on the climate and environmental changes in data scarce regions.
Received: 02 Dec 2024
–
Discussion started: 10 Jun 2025
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Geoscientific Model Development.
Publisher’s note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
Status: open (extended)
Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor |
**: Report abuse
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
Derrick Muheki, Bas Vercruysse, Krishna Kumar Thirukokaranam Chandrasekar, Christophe Verbruggen, Julie M. Birkholz, Koen Hufkens, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Seppe Lampe, Ed Hawkins, Peter Thorne, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, and Wim Thiery
Viewed
Total article views: 2,306 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
| HTML | XML | Total | Supplement | BibTeX | EndNote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,193 | 96 | 17 | 2,306 | 12 | 21 | 37 |
- HTML: 2,193
- PDF: 96
- XML: 17
- Total: 2,306
- Supplement: 12
- BibTeX: 21
- EndNote: 37
**Views and downloads ** (calculated since 10 Jun 2025)
**Cumulative views and downloads ** (calculated since 10 Jun 2025)
Viewed (geographical distribution)
Total article views: 2,294 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) **Thereof 2,294 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin. **
Country # Views** %
- 1
1
Cited
Latest update: 09 Oct 2025