National Weather Service (NWS)
Overview
The National Weather Service (NWS) is a US agency reponsible for monitoring and forecasting weather and issuing warnings across the United States. The NWS relies on a vast nework of weather stations, radar systems, and satellite observations to collect real-time data on atmospheric conditions.
Alerts
The NWS releases alerts when hazardous weather or environmental conditions are expected to impact a specific area. These alerts are disseminated through multiple channels, including the NWS website, NOAA Weather Radio, local media, and emergency alert systems. Alerts are generated automatically or manually by forecasters, based on real-time data from weather models and observations.
These alerts are provided on a county-level by event type (e.g., Flash Flood Warning, Blizzard Warning, Tsunami Warning, etc.) with alert titles, descriptions, and instructions. Details on the event certainty, severity, and urgency are provided, along with details on the timing of alert (when it is sent, effective, and expires). Cybersyn also provides the ability to track relationships between alerts (which shows connection between connected weather events).
Forecasts
The NWS provides forecast data on both a county- and zip code-level. This data includes precipitation, temperature, wind direction, wind speed, and other weather metrics.
Weather Observations
NWS observation data is the collection of real-time weather and environmental measurements captured by a network of weather stations operated by the National Weather Service (NWS). The observations are made by both automated systems, like the Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS), and manual reports from specific locations.
Weather Stations
The NWS has an observational network of weather stations, collecting data on atmospheric conditions across the US. These stations are positioned in various geographic regions to provide comprehensive weather data coverage. The NWS weather observations dataset is tracked at the weather station level.
Weather Zones
NWS zones are predefined geographic regions used by the NWS and are categorized into different types such as public, marine, and fire weather zones. While stations provide localized, point-specific data, the information from multiple stations within a zone is aggregated and analyzed to generate broader zone-level forecasts and alerts. The zones help group data from stations for regional forecasting and provide a framework for the NWS to issue relevant, region-specific warnings or advisories that apply to entire areas, not just individual station locations.
Key Attributes
| Geographic Coverage | United States |
| Entity Level | Weather Station, Weather Zone, County, Zip |
| Time Granularity | Minute, Hourly, Daily |
| Release Frequency | Daily |
| History | Varies by dataset; NWS does not offer history. We started collecting data around August 1, 2024. |
Notes
NOAA vs. NWS
Both NOAA and NWS provide daily weather information. The NWS dataset includes alerts, forecasts, and observations in the US (counties and zip codes) down to the hourly level. This dataset is focused on current and short-term weather observations and forecasts. NOAA provides observation data globally on a daily basis with a long history of quality-controlled climate data. Together, they can be combined to create a comprehensive picture of both immediate weather conditions and historical climate trends.
NWS Data Quality Control Checks
The National Weather Service quality checks their data using the MADIS Meteorological Surface Quality Control Checks. There are 3 levels of validity checks that the NWS runs:
- Level 1 Validity Checks: Each observation must fall within certain tolerance limits.
- Level 2 Consistency Checks: Certain tolerance limits are set for the temporal rate of change of each observation. Metrics observed at the same time must be consistent (e.g., it can't be 1 inch snowfall at 75 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Level 3 Spatial Consistency Checks: This compares an observation with nearby measurements using an Optimal Interpolation (OI) method. If the observation doesn't match its neighbors, the process rechecks by removing one neighbor at a time to identify whether the original observation or one of its neighbors is incorrect, flagging the problematic one accordingly.
Cybersyn Products
Tables above are available in the following Cybersyn data products:
Disclaimers
The data in this product is sourced from National Weather Service (NWS).
Cybersyn is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of source providers. Contact snowflake-public-data@snowflake.com for questions.