"World's oldest weatherman" dies at 103

RIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. -- An eastern Long Island chicken and dairy farmer who reported climate conditions to the National Weather Service for eight decades has died.

The Brockett Funeral Home in Bridgehampton reports Richard Hendrickson died Saturday. He was 103 and died at Westhampton Care Center. No cause of death was announced.

In 2014, the National Weather Service named its 80-year service award in his honor.

Hendrickson, known as the "world's oldest weatherman," is estimated to have tallied more than 150,000 weather observations. His data helped meteorologists analyze impending storms and information that tracks long-term climate change and other trends.

As CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason reported in 2014, when Hendrickson started recording the weather in 1930, at age 18, Herbert Hoover was president.

Hendrickson told Mason that weather was important to him because he was a livestock farmer.

When asked if he ever missed a day during his eight decade-plus career, Hendrickson told CBS New York: "Oh no! With a hurricane, I might have been a little late."

A funeral service is scheduled for Jan. 23 at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church.