U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Hourly Climate Normals (2006-2020)

browse graphicAccumulated Precipitation Normal from January 1 to May 1
The U.S. Hourly Climate Normals for 2006 to 2020 provide users supplemental hourly normals for specialized applications for hundreds of U.S. stations located across the 50 states, as well as U.S. Territories and Commonwealths, and the Compact of Free Association nations. These stations are now largely automated, and are usually part of the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) or Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS). The hourly normals include temperature, dew point, heat index, wind chill, wind, cloudiness, heating and cooling degree hours, pressure normals, and other statistics of these variables. Users can access the data either by product or by station. All data utilized in the computation of the 2006-2020 Climate Normals were taken from the Integrated Surface Dataset (ISD) Lite (a subset of NCEI's Integrated Surface Dataset). These source datasets (including intermediate datasets used in the computation of products) are also archived at the NOAA NCEI.
  • Cite as: Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anothony; Lawrimore, Jay. 2021: U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Hourly Climate Normals (1991-2020). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https/doi.org/{{DOI}}. Accessed [date].
  • NCEI DSI: 2049_01
  • gov.noaa.ncdc:C01626
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Distribution Formats
  • CSV (Version: 1.0)
Ordering InstructionsContact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
DistributorNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Principal Investigator Michael Palecki
Project Manager for Normals
National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
8282714340
michael.palecki@noaa.gov
Time Period2006-01 to 2020-12 (time interval: 1-hour)
Spatial Reference Systemurn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4269
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
N: 72.0
S: -15.0
E: -64.0
W: 134.0
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2021-05-04
Edition1.0
Data Presentation Form Digital document - digital representation of a primarily textual item (can contain illustrations also)
Dataset Progress StatusComplete - production of the data has been completed
Data Update Frequency As needed
PurposeNOAA NCEI and NOAA NWS will be primary users of this dataset. Other users include many federal, state, and local government agencies; corporations and individuals in all U.S. Economic Sectors, and the general public. The archived data will be be used to compare local climates across the United States. It will also be used to place current observations in context by allowing the calculation of anomalies (differences from normals) from a consistent reference period of record.
Use Limitations
  • These normals are calculated at weather stations and are limited in their applicability at locations in between stations as distance from the station increases horizontally and vertically.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anothony; Lawrimore, Jay. 2021: U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Hourly Climate Normals (1991-2020). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https/doi.org/{{DOI}}. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
  • Palecki, Michael
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Durre, Imke
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Applequist, Scott
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Arguez, Anthony
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Lawrimore, Jay
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
Principal Investigators
  • Palecki, Michael
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
Processors
  • Durre, Imke
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Applequist, Scott
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Arguez, Anthony
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
Sponsors
  • Durre, Imke
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
  • Lawrimore, Jay
    National Centers for Environmental Information/NOAA
Publishers
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Theme keywordsGlobal Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
  • Earth Science > Climate Indicators
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds > Wind Direction
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds > Wind Speed
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Dew Point Temperature
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Amount
  • Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure > Sea Level Pressure
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Essential Climate Variables (ECVs)
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Air Temperature
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Wind Speed and Direction
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Water Vapour - Dew Point
  • Atmospheric - Upper-air - Cloud Properties
  • Atmospheric - Surface - Air Pressure
Keyword Thesaurus Title
  • Normals
Data Center keywordsGlobal Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Place keywordsGlobal Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Continent > North America > United States Of America
  • Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean
Data Resolution keywordsGlobal Change Master Directory (GCMD) Horizontal Data Resolution Keywords
  • Point Resolution
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Vertical Data Resolution Keywords
  • Point Resolution
Stratum keywordsGlobal Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
  • Vertical Location > Land Surface
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anothony; Lawrimore, Jay. 2021: U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Hourly Climate Normals (1991-2020). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. https/doi.org/{{DOI}}. Accessed [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 StatementThe Hourly Normals are generated from Integrated Surface Dataset Lite using Fortran software routines developed for the 1981-2010 normals production and updated for technical improvements.
Processing EnvironmentThe input files are available in an ascii format, piped to scripts and programs on normalswork-dev, and completed as *.csv files in bulk variable storage and station file storage formats. They are then validated and quality controlled, and shipped to climon-prod for shipping to archive directories and online storage directories.
Last Modified: 2023-08-10
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov