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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Climate Research Data The Daily Historical
Climatology Network

National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC March 19, 1998
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The 1064-station daily data set for the contiguous United States consists of three elements: Maximum temperature, Minimum temperature, and Precipitation. The units are degrees Fahrenheit and hundredths of inches. Stations in the Daily Historical Climatology Network include long-term stations operated by 'cooperative' (non-paid) observers. Additional stations, chosen from the 1st order National Weather Service station network, were included to increase the spatial resolution. All stations were selected using the following criteria:
  • A station's potential for heat island bias over time should be low.
  • It should have maintained a relatively constant observation time.
  • Reasonably homogeneous spatial distribution over the contiguous U.S. The format of the data file is as follows:
  • Six-digit station identification number
  • Four-digit year
  • Two-digit month
  • One-digit element number (1=Max, 2=Min, 3=Pcp)
  • Thirty one fields containing daily values (missing data coded with 9999) Accompanying the data file is the inventory file (available through ftp) containing (in column order), the six-digit ID number, second column not used, Longitude, Latitude, Station Height (feet), and Station Name. These data are available on-line.

    • For further information on the Daily Historical Climatology Network, contact:
    Climate Services and Monitoring Division
    NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
    151 Patton Avenue
    Asheville, NC 28801-5001
    fax: +1-828-271-4876
    phone: +1-828-271-4800
    E-mail: ncdc.info@ncdc.noaa.gov
    To request climate data, please E-mail: ncdc.orders@ncdc.noaa.gov

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