An Expanded Digital Daily Database for Climatic Resources Applications in the Midwestern United States

Kenneth E. Kunkel, Karen Andsager, Glen Conner, Wayne L. Decker, Harry J. Hillaker, Pam Naber Knox, Fred V. Nurnberger, Jeffrey C. Rogers, Kenneth Scheeringa, Wayne M. Wendland, James Zandlo, James R. Angel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Daily observations of precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature from the National Weather Service's cooperative observer network collected prior to 1948 were keyed into a digital database. This database includes stations in the nine midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The primary source used in this project was the publication Climatological Data, which began in 1896. This database provides a substantial enhancement to the National Climatic Data Center's TD-3200 Summary of the Day database, which includes little data prior to 1948. Approximately 2 × 107 data values were keyed, increasing the amount of pre1948 digital data by about a factor of 3 and substantially improving its spatial uniformity. The data were subjected to an extensive set of quality control procedures. It is expected that these data will find their greatest value in applications requiring very long historical records, such as assessments of the risks of extreme events.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1357-1366
Number of pages10
JournalBulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Volume79
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atmospheric Science

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