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    • Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) Precipitation Data - 15 minute (CPD - 15 min), Version 2

    Metadata Updated: December 12, 2025

    The Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) 15-Minute Precipitation Data consists of quality controlled precipitation amounts, which are measurements of 15 minute accumulation of precipitation, including rain and snow for approximately 2,000 observing stations around the country, and several U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific from the National Weather Service (NWS) Fischer-Porter Network. This new version of COOP HPD with faster automations due updated stations will result in faster access for the public. The data are from 1940 to present, depending upon when each station was installed. These stations, nearly all of which were part of HPD version 1, also known as DSI-3240, were gradually upgraded from paper punch tape data recording systems to a more modern electronic data logger system from 2004-2013. Access to 15-minute data past 2014 was halted. Access restarted in 2025.

    The 15-min gauge depth time series are processed at NCEI via automated quality control and filtering algorithms to identify and remove spurious observations from noise and malfunctioning equipment, and also those due to natural phenomena such as evaporation and the necessary occasional emptying of the gauge. Data and metadata are ingested on a daily basis and combined in a single integrated dataset.

    As with the legacy punch paper instrumentation, the electronic loggers record rain gauge depth every 15 minutes. Monthly site visits to each station are still performed, but instead of collecting punched paper (that would subsequently need conversion to a digital record via a MITRON reader), data are downloaded from the station's datalogger to a memory stick and centrally collected at the local Weather Forecast Office (WFO) for all stations in the WFO area. The WFO subsequently combines all data into a single tar file and transfers the data to NCEI via ftp upload nominally each month.

    This updated 15-Minute dataset includes the historical data from the punch paper era and the recent digital era in order to provide the full period of record for each location. These data are formatted consistent with practices for NCEI Global In-situ datasets.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date April 1, 2025
    Metadata Created Date December 12, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 12, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 31, 2018 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update monthly

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from ncdc

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    NCEI COOP 15-Minute Precipitation

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date April 1, 2025
    Metadata Created Date December 12, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 12, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 31, 2018 (publication)
    Responsible Party NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.ncdc:C01729
    Access Constraints Cite as: Wuertz, David; Lawrimore, Jay; and Korzeniewski, Bryant (2018). Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) Hourly Precipitation Data (HPD), Version 2.0. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.25921/p7j8-2170 [access date]., Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long -64.0
    Bbox North Lat 72.0
    Bbox South Lat -15.0
    Bbox West Long 134.0
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update monthly
    Graphic Preview Description NCEI COOP 15-Minute Precipitation
    Graphic Preview File https://data.noaa.gov/docucomp/image/57398ca5-5209-42e7-b4c4-ba0e9315dc1e
    Graphic Preview Type JPEG
    Harvest Object Id e4796975-64e7-421d-bc26-7012276e07fe
    Harvest Source Id 2cb3ef77-1683-4c2a-9119-dc65e50917c6
    Harvest Source Title ncdc
    Licence The punch paper (legacy) system provided observations to 0.10". The newer network of digital recorders provides data to 0.01". However, it is important to note that the stated accuracy of the gauges remains 0.10". Although hourly totals are provided to hundredths of an inch, users should not that the presence of noise in the record can create spurious light precipitation amounts while also making it difficult to always identifying actual light amounts (<0.05").
    Lineage This is a new 15-minute version that follows the legacy 15-minute Precipitation Data, version 1, (DSI-3260) that has been maintained at NCEI (formerly NCDC) since at least the 1980s. Access to 15-minute data was stopped in 2014 and was restarted in 2025. The product is now known as "COOP Precipitation Data - 15 minute (CPD - 15m)." The previously named HPD network has operated since the middle of the 20th century, providing 15-minute precipitation observations and hourly totals for approximately 2000 stations. It originally consisted of several different weighing rain gauge instruments before F&P gauges, with automated readout recorded on paper tape, were phased into the network in the early 1960s. Small changes in the number of stations have occurred throughout the period of record, but the number of stations remains near 2000. Additional information is available in the ATBD (Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document).
    Metadata Language eng; USA
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[134.0, -15.0], [-64.0, -15.0], [-64.0, 72.0], [134.0, 72.0], [134.0, -15.0]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1940

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