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Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) Publication

Published by DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Metadata Last Checked: April 12, 2026 | Last Modified: 1996-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) contains summaries from major airport weather stations that include a daily account of temperature extremes, degree days, precipitation amounts and winds. Also included are the hourly precipitation amounts and abbreviated 3-hourly weather observations. The source data is global hourly (DSI 3505) which includes a number of quality control checks. The local climatological data annual file is produced from the National Weather Service (NWS) first and second order stations. The monthly summaries include maximum, minimum, and average temperature, temperature departure from normal, dew point temperature, average station pressure, ceiling, visibility, weather type, wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, degree days (heating and cooling), daily precipitation, average wind speed, fastest wind speed/direction, sky cover, and occurrences of sunshine, snowfall and snow depth. The annual summary with comparative data contains monthly and annual averages of the above basic climatological data in the meteorological data for the current year section, a table of the normals, means, and extremes of these same data, and sequential table of monthly and annual values of average temperature, total precipitation, total snowfall, and total degree days. Also included is a station location table showing in detail a history of, and relative information about, changes in the locations and exposure of instruments.

Resources

10 resources available

  • NCEI Dataset Landing Page

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  • Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) Description

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  • Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data Search

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  • CDO HTTP Server

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  • NCEI Climate Data Online Map Server

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  • NCEI ArcGIS REST Services Directory

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  • KMZ file for dataset

    KML
    Download

  • Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data Sample

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  • Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords

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  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

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Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Temperature Anomalies Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Degree Days Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Amount Earth Science > Cryosphere > Sea Ice > Snow Depth Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Sunshine Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Amount/Frequency

Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
accrualPeriodicity R/P1D
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:ncei.orders@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) contains summaries from major airport weather stations that include a daily account of temperature extremes, degree days, precipitation amounts and winds. Also included are the hourly precipitation amounts and abbreviated 3-hourly weather observations. The source data is global hourly (DSI 3505) which includes a number of quality control checks. The local climatological data annual file is produced from the National Weather Service (NWS) first and second order stations. The monthly summaries include maximum, minimum, and average temperature, temperature departure from normal, dew point temperature, average station pressure, ceiling, visibility, weather type, wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, degree days (heating and cooling), daily precipitation, average wind speed, fastest wind speed/direction, sky cover, and occurrences of sunshine, snowfall and snow depth. The annual summary with comparative data contains monthly and annual averages of the above basic climatological data in the meteorological data for the current year section, a table of the normals, means, and extremes of these same data, and sequential table of monthly and annual values of average temperature, total precipitation, total snowfall, and total degree days. Also included is a station location table showing in detail a history of, and relative information about, changes in the locations and exposure of instruments.
distribution 
                                            [
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Dataset Landing Page",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/metadata/geoportal/rest/metadata/item/gov.noaa.ncdc:C00679/html",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Landing page for the dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) Description",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Quality-Controlled Local Climatological Data is a monthly summary consisting of: 1) Summary sheet containing daily extremes and averages of temperature , departures from normal, average dew point and wet bulb temperatures, degree days, significant weather, precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, station and sea level pressure, and average and extreme wind speeds; 2) Hourly observations of most of these same weather elements plus sky conditions and visibility; 3) Hourly coded remarks; and 4) Hourly Precipitation table. The QCLCD is provided for approximately 1000 U.S. stations since 2005.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data Search",
    "accessURL": "http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd/QCLCD?prior=N",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Search for the dataset via a text-based interface.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "CDO HTTP Server",
    "accessURL": "http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd_ascii/",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Compressed dataset files by month available for download via HTTP.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI Climate Data Online Map Server",
    "accessURL": "https://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/map/viewer/#app=cdo&cfg=cdo&theme=hourly&layers=000001&extent=-139.2:12.7:-50.4:57.8&node=gis",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "Dynamic GIS mapping application to locate stations and data for selected layers.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NCEI ArcGIS REST Services Directory",
    "accessURL": "https://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/cdo/lcd/MapServer",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "ArcGIS Server REST API for the dataset.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "KMZ file for dataset",
    "format": "KML",
    "mediaType": "application/vnd.google-earth.kmz",
    "description": "Direct download link for KMZ file.",
    "downloadURL": "https://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/kml/lcd.kmz",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data Sample",
    "accessURL": "http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/qclcd/qclcddlysummary.htm",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "This sample data file shows how the data are formatted and is for example purposes only.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Keywords",
    "accessURL": "https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/gcmd/global-change-master-directory-gcmd-keywords",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "The information provided on this page seeks to define how the GCMD Keywords are structured, used and accessed. It also provides information on how users can participate in the further development of the keywords.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)",
    "accessURL": "https://www.ncei.noaa.gov",
    "mediaType": "text/html",
    "description": "NCEI home page with information, data access and contact information.",
    "describedByType": "application/octet-stream"
  }
]
identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/aim/iso/xml/C00679.xml
issued 1996-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
                                            [
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Maximum/Minimum Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Temperature Anomalies",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Degree Days",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Amount",
  "Earth Science > Cryosphere > Sea Ice > Snow Depth",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Winds > Surface Winds",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Radiation > Sunshine",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Amount/Frequency",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Anomalies",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Air Quality > Visibility",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Dew Point Temperature",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity",
  "Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Properties > Cloud Ceiling",
  "Continent > North America > United States Of America",
  "Ocean > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Puerto Rico",
  "Ocean > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Micronesia > Guam",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Central Pacific Ocean > American Samoa",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Micronesia > Palau",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Micronesia > Marshall Islands",
  "Ocean > Pacific Ocean > Western Pacific Ocean > Micronesia",
  "Vertical Location > Troposphere",
  "Vertical Location > Land Surface",
  "Vertical Location > Stratosphere",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCDC > National Climatic Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce"
]
language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 1996-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
rights otherRestrictions
spatial 180.0,-15.0,-180.0,72.0
temporal 1882-01-01T00:00:00+00:00/1882-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
title Quality Controlled Local Climatological Data (QCLCD) Publication

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