Glossary of Terms
- Average temperature
- For summary-of-the-day observations, the average of the maximum and minimum
temperatures recorded that day. In some displays, this is rounded off
to the nearest degree.
- Climatological Division
- A portion of a state that is fairly homogeneous in terms of its climate. The maximum
number of divisons that any state can have is 10.
- Cooling Degree Days
- Cooling degree days are a value reflecting the amount of energy needed to keep
a building cool. It is computed by subtracting a base temperature from the
average temperature (usually rounded to the
nearest degree) for the day. The base temperature in CLIMOD products is
65 degrees Fahrenheit, unless specified otherwise.
- Cooperative station number
- A unique 6-digit cooperative weather station identification number.
The first two digits indicate the state. This
identifier is the primary means of specifying stations in the CLIMOD system.
- Cooperative weather station
- A site at which weather observations are taken by
volunteers or contractors who are not National Weather Service employees and who are not
required to pass observation certification examinations. Observations are usually taken
only once per day. There are approximately 11,000 cooperative observers in the United States.
More info on the cooperative observer program can be found at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/COOP/index.htm
- First-order weather station
- A site at which weather observations are taken by National Weather Service employees
or other certified observers. Observations are usually taken on the hour, around the
clock. Daily summary statistics are also recorded. A comprehensive array of weather variables
are recorded, such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity,
precipitation type and amount, cloud cover and visibility. Most, but not all, first-order
weather stations are located at major airports.
- Growing Degree Days
- Growing degree days provide a useful means of relating crop growth and insect development
to temperature. Numerous methods for calculating GDD exist. In its most basic form,
it is computed by subtracting a base temperature
from the average temperature (usually rounded
to the nearest degree) for the day. The base temperature in
CLIMOD products is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, unless specified otherwise.
- Growing Degree Days - 86/50 method
- This is an adaptation of the normal base 50 growing degree days. The
difference is that maximum temperatures above 86 degrees F are set to 86 and minimum
temperatures below 50 degrees F are set to 50 before the calculations are done. The
base temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, unless specified otherwise. This type of GDD
is commonly used in applications related to corn growth and development.
- Growing Degree Days - Baskerville-Emin
- Another growing degree day adaptation. The routine for this calculation was provided to
NRCC by Cornell Cooperative Extension. It differs somewhat from the method
described on a
Michigan State University web page. Baskerville-Emin GDD are superior in some applications
when spring and fall minimum temperatures fall below the base temperature.
- Heating Degree Days
- Heating degree days are a value reflecting the amount of energy needed to heat
a building. It is computed by subtracting the average temperature
(usually rounded to the nearest degree) for the day from a base temperature.
The base temperature in CLIMOD products is
65 degrees Fahrenheit, unless specified otherwise.
- Maximum temperature
- Highest temperature recorded for the 24 hours ending at the time of observation.
- Minimum temperature
- Lowest temperature recorded for the 24 hours ending at the time of observation.
- Missing data
- Data can be missing for a number of reasons, including: the data were not recorded by the
observer, the equipment was not functioning properly, or
the data were deemed to be bad by quality control procedures.
- Monthly average daily temperature
- Average of all the non-missing daily average temperatures for a
month. Full precision of the daily averages are used in this calculation (i.e. the
values before rounding).
- Monthly average maximum temperature
- Average of all the non-missing daily maximum temperatures for a
month.
- Monthly average minimum temperature
- Average of all the non-missing daily minimum temperatures for a
month.
- Monthly cooling degree days
- Monthly sum of daily cooling degree day values. Base temperature of
65° F is used and average temperatures are rounded away from zero before calculating
degree days. For months with between 1 and 5 days of missing data, the monthly total is
estimated by assigning the average of the non-missing days to this day. For days with
more than five days of missing data, a partial monthly total is displayed.
- Monthly greatest one-day precipitation
- Greatest of the daily precipitation observations recorded during
the month. Values that were accumulated over more than one day are ignored when
determining this extreme.
- Monthly greatest one-day snowfall
- Greatest of the daily snowfall observations recorded during
the month. Values that were accumulated over more than one day are ignored when
determining this extreme.
- Monthly greatest one-day snow water equivalent
- Greatest of the daily snow water equivalent observations recorded during
the month.
- Monthly greatest snow depth
- Greatest of the daily snow depth observations recorded during
the month.
- Monthly greatest temperature range
- Greatest of the daily temperature ranges recorded during
the month.
- Monthly growing degree days (Base 50)
- Monthly sum of daily growing degree day values. Base temperature of
50° F is used and average temperatures are rounded away from zero before calculating
degree days. For months with between 1 and 5 days of missing data, the monthly total is
estimated by assigning the average of the non-missing days to this day. For days with
more than five days of missing data, a partial monthly total is displayed.
- Monthly growing degree days (86/50 method)
- Same as sum of growing degree day (base 50) totals, except any maximum
temperatures greater than 86°F are set to 86 and any minimum temperature less than
50°F are set to 50 before calculating the average temperature.
- Monthly heating degree days
- Monthly sum of daily heating degree day values. Base temperature of
65° F is used and average temperatures are rounded away from zero before calculating
degree days. For months with between 1 and 5 days of missing data, the monthly total is
estimated by assigning the average of the non-missing days to this day. For days with
more than five days of missing data, a partial monthly total is displayed.
- Monthly highest maximum temperature
- Greatest of the daily maximum temperatures recorded during the month.
- Monthly highest minimum temperature
- Highest of the daily minimum temperatures recorded during the month.
- Monthly lowest maximum temperature
- Lowest of the daily maximum temperatures recorded during the month.
- Monthly lowest minimum temperature
- Lowest of the daily minimum temperatures recorded during the month.
- Monthly total evaporation
- Monthly sum of daily pan evaporation values.
- Monthly total precipitation
- Monthly sum of daily precipitation values.
Trace values do not
contribute to the monthly sum. Daily values that are flagged as being included in
a subsequent observation are not counted as missing. The accumulated value that
follows is included in the monthly total. The exception is a string of subsequent-flagged
values that cross a month boundary. These days will be counted as missing.
- Monthly total snowfall
- Monthly sum of daily snowfall values.
Trace values do not
contribute to the monthly sum. Daily values that are flagged as being included in
a subsequent observation are not counted as missing. The accumulated value that
follows is included in the monthly total. The exception is a string of subsequent-flagged
values that cross a month boundary. These days will be counted as missing.
- New snowfall
- Amount of snow that has fallen since the last observation. Values of "Tr" or "Trace"
indicate that a trace of snow fell.
- Normal
- A 30-year average consisting of three consecutive decades. Currently the years 1961
through 1990 are used for calculating normals. CLIMOD products use both monthly and
daily normals. Daily temperature and preciptation normals in CLIMOD are computed by
doing a spline-fit to the monthly normals, unless indicated otherwise.
- Normal distribution
- Also known as the Gaussian distribution. It is a two-paremeter frequency distribution
defined by the mean and standard deviation.
- Pan evaporation
- The amount of water (in inches) that has evaporated from a Class A evaporation pan. These
pans are unpainted, constructed of monel or galvanized metal, 47.5 inches in diameter,
10 inches deep, and mounted on a platform which raises the pan base a few inches
above the ground. In cooler climates, observations are only taken from April or May through
October.
- Pearson type III distribution
- A three-paremeter frequency distribution
defined by the mean, standard deviation and skewness.
- Precipitation
- Rain and/or the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation. Values of "Tr" or "Trace"
indicate that a trace of precipitation occurred.
- Preliminary data
- Data in the CLIMOD database can have one of several thresholds of quality. Preliminary data
are usually of the lowest level of quality, since they have undergone little or no quality
control. These are usually data that have been captured via electronic means. These data
are made available to users before higher quality data becomes available at a later time.
- Rounding off
- In CLIMOD products, when rounding is performed, it is done away from zero. That is,
a value of 2.5 becomes 3 and -2.5 becomes -3.
- Season-to-date snowfall
- Sum of the daily snowfall totals from July 1 through the date of interest.
- Snow depth
- Depth of snow on the ground at the time of observation. Values of "Tr" or "Trace"
indicate that there was a trace of snow on the ground.
- Snow water equivalent
- Water equivalent (or content) of the snow on the ground (i.e. snow depth).
These data are available primarily for first-order weather stations,
and measurements are usually only taken when there
are more than 2 inches of snow on the ground. The measurement is usually made by
taking a representative sample of the snow on the ground, melting it, and measuring the
resulting water content.
- Temperature departure from normal
- Difference between the daily average temperature and the daily
normal. Negative values indicate that the average temperature
for the day was cooler than normal.
- Temperature range
- Difference between the daily maximum temperature and the daily
minimum temperature.
- Time of observation
- The time that weather observations are taken. At first-order weather stations,
this is usually midnight. For cooperative weather stations, however,
this time can vary
from station to station. A common observation time for coop stations is 7am or 8am. Cooperative
station observations are for the twenty-four hours ending at the observation time on the date
indicated.
- Trace
- A trace of precipitation, snowfall or snow on the ground indicates that some occurred or
is present, but it was below the detectable limit. Generally, this limit for precipitation
is 0.005 inch, for snowfall 0.05 inch and for snow depth 0.5 inch.
- Year-to-date precipitation
- Sum of the daily precipitation totals from January 1 through the date of interest.