World War II Era Summary of Day Dataset

Introduction

This web page was developed in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the war's end, and in honor of those who served. Below is a list of files available from NCDC via internet containing World War II Era Summary of Day data (just click on any file listed below to download). Instructions are provided at the bottom of this page for accessing these files through anonymous ftp. Some of these files are rather large so special attention to the size is recommended before accessing them through your browser. Additional notes are also available.

Available Files

World War II Era Summary of Day Dataset File (15461000 bytes)

This dataset was developed in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the war's end. It contains 1940-1945 data for 162 stations outside of the United States. The actual period of data availability varies depending upon the station's activity. Many stations in the European and Pacific theaters of operation are included.

Zipped Dataset File (1116000 bytes)


Same as above but zipped file.

File Format Description (2000 bytes)


Describes the format of the dataset file. See notes at bottom of page.

Station Locations (10000 bytes)


A list of station locations included in the dataset file.

Country Id's (7000 bytes)


Shows the country identifiers (2-character ID) to cross-reference stations in Station Locations.

Global Map (25000 bytes)


Global map of the station locations (gif image). Same as above but larger.

Dataset Description (1000 bytes)


Text version of this page.

Anonymous FTP Instructions

a) Enter: open ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov
b) Login is: ftp or anonymous
c) Password is: your email address
d) You are now logged onto a UNIX workstation. Enter help if you'd like a list of available commands.
e) To move to the correct subdirectory, enter: cd /pub/data/ww-ii-data
f) To get a copy of the file descriptions, enter: get readme.txt destination (destination is your output location and name)...e.g.--get readme.txt c:readme.txt - copies to hard drive c:
g) Then, to get a copy of any of the remaining files, use the same procedure, such as--get format.txt c:format.txt
h) To logoff the system when finished, enter: bye

Notes

Simple ftp transfers of the 6 files will download the data. The data file has a 'header record' that corresponds to the File Format Description file (format.txt). The format file also describes the included elements, such as maximum/minimum temperature, daily precipitation, snow depth, and peak wind gust.

If you have any technical questions about these data, please contact:

Ph. 828-271-4800; email questions@ncdc.noaa.gov

To order additional data, send a message to ncdc.orders@noaa.gov or call 828-271-4800. We'll be glad to assist in any way.