Surface Airways Observations (SAO) Hourly Data (1965-1981) (CDMP)
CDMP SAO 65-81 Hourly
The dataset consists primarily of U.S. surface airways observations (SAO) data beginning in 1965 and extending through 1981.
Note that a few stations have already had certain years within this 1965-81 period re-keyed as hourly. For these stations, only a subset of the period was keyed. In addition, other stations did not have data keyed at all during this period, or during the periods immediately before or after the 1965-81 range. These stations data have been keyed to as thoroughly as possible complete their entire period of record back to July, 1948.
The major data variables are as follows: WBAN Identification Station Number, observational type, ceiling and cloud, visibility, present weather, temperature, relative humidity, wind, pressure and precipitation. The observations are generally recorded for the 24 hour period midnight to midnight.
The keying format was designed to reflect the data as entered on the page to make keying easier for the key entry personnel, who were not trained meteorological technicians. The "raw" observations which comprise this dataset will be quality checked to include data adjustments and converted to NCDC's Integrated Surface Hourly (ISH) format.
Note that a few stations have already had certain years within this 1965-81 period re-keyed as hourly. For these stations, only a subset of the period was keyed. In addition, other stations did not have data keyed at all during this period, or during the periods immediately before or after the 1965-81 range. These stations data have been keyed to as thoroughly as possible complete their entire period of record back to July, 1948.
The major data variables are as follows: WBAN Identification Station Number, observational type, ceiling and cloud, visibility, present weather, temperature, relative humidity, wind, pressure and precipitation. The observations are generally recorded for the 24 hour period midnight to midnight.
The keying format was designed to reflect the data as entered on the page to make keying easier for the key entry personnel, who were not trained meteorological technicians. The "raw" observations which comprise this dataset will be quality checked to include data adjustments and converted to NCDC's Integrated Surface Hourly (ISH) format.
Dataset Citation
- Cite this dataset when used as a source.
Dataset Identifiers
- NCEI DSI_3853_01
- gov.noaa.ncdc:C01309
ISO 19115-2 Metadata
gov.noaa.ncdc:C01309
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| Distribution Formats |
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| 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 |
| Time Period | 1965-01-01 to 1981-12-31 (time interval: 1-hour) |
| Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates |
West: 172.0
East: -66.0
South: 18.0
North: 72.0
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| Data Presentation Form | Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns |
| Dataset Progress Status | Complete - production of the data has been completed |
| Data Update Frequency | Not planned |
| Purpose | Due to budgetary constraints the 1965-1981 SAOs were originally digitized in three-hourly intervals, even though they were available hourly in manuscript form. This presented problems for users who were conducting research using the pre-65 and post-81 hourly data in conjunction with the 65-81 data. In order to create a more homogenous dataset, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) re-digitized the 65-81 in an hourly fashion. As part of the mission of the National Climatic Data Center's (NCDC) Climate Database Modernization Program (CDMP), NCDC embarked upon a massive project to preserve these paper records, and make their data more accessible. To that end, these records were keyed, leading to this dataset. These observations may be integrated with hourly in-situ datasets to extend the period of record. |
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| Theme keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
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| Data Center keywords |
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
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| Lineage Statement | Data in this dataset were keyed by contract staff under the Climate Database Modernization Program (CDMP), sent to NCDC via FTP. Data were also sent to the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NeRCC) in Ithaca, New York, where staff applied automated quality control (QC) routines and sent QC'd data files back to NCDC. The period was chosen because the Weather Bureau/Weather Service forms were more consistent during this time period, allowing for faster keying of data. |
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Last Modified: 2023-06-23
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov
