United States Historical Climatology Network Daily Temperature, Precipitation, and Snow Data, 1871-1997

<p>Extending through 1994, this data base contains monthly total precipitation and temperature data from 1219 stations in the contiguous U.S. To be included in the Historical Climatology Network (HCN), a station had to be currently active (1994), have at least 80 years of monthly temperature and precipitation data, and have experienced few station changes. These data were derived from a variety of sources including the National Climatic Data Center archives, state climatologists, and published literature. The data base contains several hundred variables, including state number; station number; monthly temperatures (minimum, maximum, and mean); total monthly precipitation; and time of observation. This is probably the best monthly temperature and precipitation data set available for the contiguous U.S. because station moves, instrument changes, urbanization effects, and time-of-observation differences have been considered and, where necessary, the data have been corrected.</p>