NOAA Weather Normals

NOAA Weather Normals

NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is a U.S. government agency that focuses on monitoring and understanding the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, weather, and climate. NOAA plays a critical role in conducting scientific research providing data to help manage natural resources, protect the environment, and improve public safety.  
In Sitewise, NOAA Weather Normals offers monthly temperature (F°) averages, minimums, and maximums along with the annual average temperature and the average number of days by temperature. In terms of precipitation, the point layer offers annual precipitation and snowfall (in). Locational data like latitude, longitude, elevation and state are also available. 

Use Cases 

  1. Knowing the seasonal temperatures of your prospected areas can help in understanding the impact and likelihood of tourism. 
  2. Annual precipitation data can help with understanding the risk and impact of weather events such as floods and droughts.  

Methodology 

NOAA utilizes research programs, vessels, satellites, science centers, laboratories, observing systems, and their array of scientists and experts to gather reliable weather data. The 1981-2010 Weather Normals provide 30-year climate data (temperature, precipitation, snowfall, etc.) by station, organized by monthly and annual averages. Data undergoes quality checks done by NOAA and is flagged for completeness. NOAA’s quality assurance procedure consists of tests designed to detect duplicate data, climatological outliers, and various inconsistencies. 

Considerations 

While valuable insights can be gathered from NOAA weather data, it is essential to understand its limitations. As mentioned earlier, stations are flagged for completeness of data regarding the 30-year measurement period. However, not all stations have 30 years of collected data. Check out the 'What does the flag attribute mean?' section in the FAQ for more information on understanding data completeness. Further, while there are monthly and annual values for temperature, there are only annual values offered for precipitation and snowfall. 

FAQ

What is the coverage?
United States point level data 
How can I add the data to my account?
NOAA Weather Normals data is available to add as a layer for all sitewise pro clients free of charge. Contact the Sitewise team if you would like this data added to your account. 
How often is the data updated?
NOAA Weather Normals data is updated every decade. 
What display options are there?
This data can be used to display weather patterns over large areas of the US. Data points can be sized based on specific attribute values to help viewers visualize the weather patterns in an area. Below are some examples of how you might display Weather Normals data. 

Average Annual Precipitation (in) 
Average Annual Snowfall (in) 
What does the flag attribute mean?
The ‘flag’ attribute in the NOAA Weather Normals dataset refers to the completeness of the data. It can be found at the bottom of the Station Details attribute group on the details page. Access the details page by first clicking the location on the map, then clicking the magnifying glass. 
Flag Legend
C: Complete (all 30 years used) 
S: Standard (no more than 5 years missing and no more than 3 consecutive years missing) 
R: Representative (Record utilized incomplete, value was scaled or based on filled values to be representative of the full period of record) 
P: Provisional (at least 10 years used, but not sufficiently complete to be labeled as standard or representative) 
Q: Quasi-normal (at least 2 years per month, but not sufficiently complete to be labeled as provisional or any other higher flag code)