Skip to main content
Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (NClimDiv)

NClimDiv (Climate Indices)

browse graphicDivisional Average Temperature Ranks, January-December 2014
In March 2015, data for thirteen Alaskan climate divisions were added to the NClimDiv data set. Data for the new Alaskan climate divisions begin in 1925 through the present and are included in all monthly updates. Alaskan climate data include the following elements for divisional and statewide coverage: average temperature, maximum temperature (highs), minimum temperature (lows), and precipitation. The Alaska NClimDiv data were created and updated using similar methodology as that for the CONUS, but with a different approach to establishing the underlying climatology. The Alaska data are built upon the 1971-2000 PRISM averages whereas the CONUS values utilize a base climatology derived from the NClimGrid data set. In January 2025, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) began summarizing the State of the Climate for Hawaii. This was made possible through a collaboration between NCEI and the University of Hawaii/Hawaii Climate Data Portal and completes a long-standing gap in NCEI's ability to characterize the State of the Climate for all 50 states. NCEI maintains monthly statewide, divisional, and gridded average temperature, maximum temperatures (highs), minimum temperature (lows) and precipitation data for Hawaii over the period 1991-2025.
As of November 2018, NClimDiv includes county data and additional inventory files
In March 2015, data for thirteen Alaskan climate divisions were added to the NClimDiv data set. Data for the new Alaskan climate divisions begin in 1925 through the present and are included in all monthly updates. Alaskan climate data include the following elements for divisional and statewide coverage: average temperature, maximum temperature (highs), minimum temperature (lows), and precipitation. The Alaska NClimDiv data were created and updated using similar methodology as that for the CONUS, but with a different approach to establishing the underlying climatology. The Alaska data are built upon the 1971-2000 PRISM averages whereas the CONUS values utilize a base climatology derived from the NClimGrid data set.

As of November 2018, NClimDiv includes county data and additional inventory files.
  • Cite as: Vose, Russell S.; Applequist, Scott; Squires, Mike; Durre, Imke; Menne, Matthew J.; Williams, Claude N., Jr.; Fenimore, Chris; Gleason, Karin; Arndt, Derek (2014): NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (NClimDiv). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. doi:10.7289/V5M32STR [access date].
gov.noaa.ncdc:C00005
Full Text · XML
Search Data
Download Data
Distribution Formats
  • TXT
  • KMZ
Ordering Instructions Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Customer Engagement Branch
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
1-828-271-4800
ncei.orders@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Climate Monitoring Branch
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
+1 828-271-4800
ncei.monitoring.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 1895-01-01 to Present (time interval: 1-month)
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: 172.0
East: -65.0
South: 18.0
North: 72.5
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Improved Historical Temperature and Precipitation Time Series for U.S. Climate Divisions
  • NOAA Monthly National Climate Report
  • U.S. Climate Divisional Dataset (TCDD)
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2014-03-01
  • revision: 2015-03-15
  • revision: 2018-11-15
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Status not available
Data Update Frequency Monthly
Purpose The U.S. Climate Divisional Dataset is the only long-term temporally and spatially complete dataset from 1895 to the present for the Contiguous United States (CONUS), Alaska (1925-present), and Hawaii (1991-present) from NCEI. The dataset provides temperature, precipitation and drought indices, as well as heating and cooling degree days. Coverage is provided for U.S. climate divisions, states, multi-state regions, and the nation. Text output, and static and interactive graphs are available.
Use Limitations
  • Data is derived from all observations available at the time of data production.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Vose, Russell S.; Applequist, Scott; Squires, Mike; Durre, Imke; Menne, Matthew J.; Williams, Claude N., Jr.; Fenimore, Chris; Gleason, Karin; Arndt, Derek (2014): NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (NClimDiv). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. doi:10.7289/V5M32STR [access date].
Cited Authors
  • Vose, Russell S.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Applequist, Scott
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Squires, Mike
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Durre, Imke
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Menne, Matthew J.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Williams, Claude N., Jr.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Fenimore, Chris
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Gleason, Karin
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Arndt, Derek
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Principal Investigators
  • Vose, Russell S.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Collaborators
  • Applequist, Scott
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Squires, Mike
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Durre, Imke
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Menne, Matthew J.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Williams, Claude N., Jr.
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Fenimore, Chris
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Gleason, Karin
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • Arndt, Derek
    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Publishers
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Theme keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Degree Days
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Temperature Anomalies
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Temperature Tendency
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Amount
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Anomalies
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variables (ECVs)
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Air Temperature
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Precipitation
Data Center keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Platform keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords
  • Fixed Observation Stations
Instrument keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
  • Thermometers
  • Rain Gauges
Place keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Continent > North America > United States Of America
Data Resolution keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Temporal Data Resolution Keywords
  • Monthly Climatology
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Vose, Russell S.; Applequist, Scott; Squires, Mike; Durre, Imke; Menne, Matthew J.; Williams, Claude N., Jr.; Fenimore, Chris; Gleason, Karin; Arndt, Derek (2014): NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (NClimDiv). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Climatic Data Center. doi:10.7289/V5M32STR [access date].
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Access Constraints
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Lineage Statement This dataset exhibits substantial differences with the previous Climate Divisional Dataset over the period 1895-2013. The first improvement is to the input data, which now include additional station records and contemporary bias adjustments (Menne and Williams, 2009). The second improvement is to the suite of climatic elements, which has been expanded to include both maximum and minimum temperature. The final (and far most extensive) improvement is to the computational methodology, which now addresses topographic and network variability via climatologically aided interpolation (Willmott and Robeson, 1995).
Processor
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Processing Steps
  • Divisional values in NClimDiv were derived from area-weighted averages of grid-point estimates interpolated from station data. A nominal grid resolution of 5 km was used to ensure that all divisions had sufficient spatial sampling (only four small divisions had less than 100 points) and because the impact of elevation on precipitation is minimal below 5 km (Sharples et al., 2005). Station data were gridded via climatologically aided interpolation to minimize biases from topographic and network variability (Willmott and Robeson, 1995; Hamlet and Lettenmaier, 2005). In brief, this approach typically requires the creation of three grid types: first-guess grids of climate normals by month, and anomaly grids (i.e., departures from normal) for each year and month, and composite normal/anomaly grids for each year and month. The normal grids capture fine-scale detail using all stations whereas the anomaly grids capture broad departures from average using only the sites available at that time. Because anomalies exhibit less spatial variability than the mean field, the approach is usually viable for sparse networks (New et al., 2000), though some local features (e.g., inversions) may be understated if they do not occur on a climatological basis (Daly, 2006).
  • In March 2015, new Alaska data was included in the NClimDiv dataset. The Alaska NclimDiv data were created and updated using similar methodology as that for the CONUS, but with a different approach to establishing the underlying climatology. The Alaska data are built upon the 1971-2000 PRISM averages whereas the CONUS values utilize a base climatology derived from the nCLIMGRID dataset. Alaska data only includes the following elements: average temperature, maximum temperature (highs), minimum temperature (lows), and precipitation. National and derived quantities and products are not available for Alaska at this time. Please review documentation for more information.
  • In November of 2018, an additiona county-level data file was added to the NClimDiv dataset. Also, additional station inventory files were added for reference.
  • In January 2025, the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) began summarizing the State of the Climate for Hawaii. This was made possible through a collaboration between NCEI and the University of Hawaii/Hawaii Climate Data Portal and completes a long-standing gap in NCEI's ability to characterize the State of the Climate for all 50 states.
Source Datasets
  • NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Gridded Database (NClimGrid)
    • Landing Page for NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Gridded Database (NClimGrid) (download)
      More information for NClimGrid can be found at the dataset landing page.
    • Description of Source: Divisions are calculated using the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Gridded Database (NClimGrid)
    • Temporal extent used: 1895-01-01 to Present
    • Spatial extent used: N:71.5 S:24.0 E:-66.0 W:-180.0
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2025-04-01T22:37:12
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov