How to Obtain Official Historical Climate Data

How to Obtain Official Historical Climate Data

The National Centers for Environmental Information and the Midwestern Regional Climate Center fill various requests for climate data. These centers are responsible for monitoring and maintaining a large number of data sets for the National Weather Service and other organizations. Weather Service Forecast Offices (including NWS Chicago) are responsible for archiving daily weather conditions for their areas of responsibility and then transmitting that information to the climate centers, where the official archives for weather observations are maintained.

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI):

NCEI is our nation's primary authority for environmental data and maintains one of the world's largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic data. You can learn more about NCEI here.

How to contact NCEI

Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC):

MRCC is a cooperative program between NCEI and Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. MRCC maintains climate data for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. You can learn more about MRCC here.

How to contact MRCC