APPENDIX 4
Weather
Information from the Internet
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he Internet offers an excellent on-line storehouse of weather information, which includes local weather forecasts, U.S. and state weather maps, as well as current and historical weather data for cities and zip codes. So many excellent sources of Internet weather data exist that one can only “scratch the surface” listing them.
This section loosely categorizes designated Web sites according to those that offer historical weather data and those that do not.
These two categories are included in this discussion because the former category supports tables in Chapters 8 and 10 and 11, while the latter includes useful, current and easily accessed weather information.
Access fees are commonly charged for most government-managed historical Internet climate data. On the other hand, weather data from most non-government-managed Internet sources are generally free of charge, but few of these sites provide access to historical weather data.
Historical
On-Line Weather Data
The Yahoo Web site* presents historical MAXTMP, MINTMP and PRECIP data for many cities within each state, but such data do not include the dew point temperature. Thus, relevance of such data to leisure thermal comfort estimates depends on whether we equate a given MINTMP with its corresponding dew point temperature.
To find dew point temperature data per se that are available for some, but not all of its listed weather stations, we can refer to the Web site maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)†. This site contains a wealth of information, much of it too specialized and complex for most casual users. However, for our purposes, access to the NOAA database (in particular, the “unedited” data), as well as the Yahoo database, can sometimes expand coverage beyond those cities represented by ISMCS climate tables contained in previous chapters.
Path to the NOAA Web Site
The
NOAA Web site is extensive and offers numerous options; a nonspecialist easily
can become confused by the many paths. Below is a brief set of directions for a
specific path leading to NOAA’s unedited historical data.
To start from within the second footnoted
path below, select “Get/View Online Climate Data.”
Next, select “Surface Data/Monthly.”
Next, select “US Data Select By Station (Unedited Local Climatological Data).
Finally, we may choose the option: “Using Station Name/List Ordered by Station Name.”
For example, we can select Punta Gorda, Florida, from the list of “unedited” weather stations.
(Note: At this point, you should be at the NOAA* Web site designated by the footnote, below.)
For any particular city selected (station name), we see a corresponding table of historical data. Each such “unedited” table displays monthly data for the specified city and year. Depending on city, the number of years of historical data presented for any given city varies from one to several.
Dew point temperatures may or may not be (partially, or even completely) included, depending on the participating weather station. Commonly, monthly MINTMP, MAXTMP and AVETMP data are presented for each station, as well as PRECIP and snow depth (when available). For example, consider Punta Gorda, Florida, for which the July climate data are summarized below:
• MINTMP = 73.9 ºF
• MAXTMP = 90.9 ºF
• AVETMP = 82.4 ºF
• Dew Point = 73.4 ºF
• Wet Bulb = 75.4 ºF (relevant for heat stress calculation)
• PRECIP = 8.31 Inches
Notice that dew point temperature is almost identical to the MINTMP, consistent with the discussion in Chapter 11 that suggests dew point and average monthly minimum temperature sometimes closely agree, especially when also associated with high values of PRECIP.
Miscellaneous On-Line Weather Data
The NOAA Web site, referred to above, contains a vast amount of useful information other than the historical data described. The reader can find weather maps, weather forecasts and current weather at the levels of state, city and even zip code. Several nongovernmental Web sites that provide useful on-line weather information have previously been cited in Chapter 3 (Hi-Line Internet and University of North Carolina).
Additionally, the following Web sites offer a useful selection of general and specific weather information free of charge:
• http://www.wunderground.com/
• http://www.weather.com/
• http://vortex.plymouth.edu/
• http://www.weatherimages.org/
• http://weather.unisys.com/index.html
• http://www.50states.com/.
The last listed Web site (“www.50states.com”) provides individual maps for each of the fifty states plus a variety of county-specific information, such as climate, population, economy, industry, etc. ■
