Data / Links
PNW Data Archive: Historical
This page provides access to gridded and time series data for the climate and natural resource-related variables in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). These datasets have been used by the CSES staff in studies and are provided here for use by the community. Updates of these datasets are made on "as needed" basis, and other datasets have been superceded by newer products.
- Precipitation
- Air Temperature
- Water Temperature
- Snow Depth
- Glacier Mass Balance / Length
- Streamflow
- Internally-consistent hydrologic and climatic data sets
Precipitation
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Spatial Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gridded Data | ||||
| NCEP "unified" | daily, monthly | 0.25, 1° | 1948-98 | Contiguous U.S., and 40-50N,125-110W |
| University of Washington | daily | "50" km | 1949-94 | Washington and Oregon |
| Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model | Three-hourly, Daily, Monthly | 1/8º | 1950-July2000 | Contiguous U.S. |
| Individual Stations | ||||
| World Monthly Surface Station Climatology (WMSSC) | Monthly | Varies by station | Years and months of data | |
| Seattle, Washington | Monthly | 1878-1990 | ||
| Olga, Washington (Orcas Island) | Monthly | 1890-1994 | Averages of Station Data | |
| Northeastern Washington State | Monthly | 1931-96 | ||
| Puget Sound Lowland (Washington State) | Monthly | 1931-2009 | ||
Air Temperature
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Spatial Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Division Data | ||||
| Digital values for numerous stations (WMSSC) | Climatology | Station data | Varies by station | |
| Northeastern Washington State | Monthly | Averaged over climate division | 1931-96 | |
| Olga, Washington (Orcas Island) | Monthly | Station data | 1892-1994 | |
| Puget Sound Lowland (Washington State) | Monthly | Averaged over climate division | 1931-2009 | |
Water Temperature
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Spatial Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNW stream temperature | Weekly | Station data | 1950-2006 | summertime |
| Neah Bay, Washington | Monthly | Station data | 1935-1993 |
Snow Depth
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt. Hood Meadows, Oregon | For the first of each month, January-May | 1939-present | |
| Paradise Ranger Station, Mt. Rainier, Washington | Annually on March 15th | 1916-1995 | |
| Stevens Pass, Washington | For the first of each month, January-May | 1944-1992 | |
| Various stations | Daily and monthly | various | SNOpack TELemetry (SNOTEL) |
Glacier Mass Balance / Length (Washington state)
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Glacier, Olympics | Annual | 1956-99 | |
| North Cascade Glacier | Annual | 1984-present | |
| South Cascade Glacier | Annual | 1953-2005, update |
Streamflow
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia River at The Dalles, Oregon | Monthly | 1878-2010 | |
| Various Oregon rivers | Daily and monthly | various-present | |
| Hoh River, Washington | Monthly | 1926-1964, 1960-2010 | |
| Okanogan River, Washington | Monthly | 1912-1988 | |
| Quinault River at Quinault, Washington | Monthly | 1912-2007 | |
| Sauk River near Darrington, Washington | Monthly | 1918-2010 | |
| Skykomish River at Gold Bar, Washington | Monthly | 1929-1993 | |
| Spokane River in Spokane, Washington | Monthly | 1891-2010 | |
| Stehekin River, Washington | Monthly | 1910-2010 | |
| Various Washington rivers | Daily and monthly | various-present | |
| Various Idaho rivers | Daily and monthly | various-present | |
| Various Montana rivers | Daily and monthly | various-present | |
| Columbia and Snake River flow reconstructions from tree rings | Annual |
Land Surface Hydrology
| Name | Temporal Resolution |
Spatial Resolution |
Range of Years | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model input and derived data | Three-hourly, Daily, Monthly | 1/8º | 1950-July2000 | Internally-consistent data for the contiguous U.S. Includes meteorological (e.g., precipitation, temperature, radiation), water balance (e.g., evaporation, runoff, soil moisture, snow water equivalent) and energy balance (e.g., latent, sensible, and ground heat flux) variables |
For Assistance
If you need any assistance downloading or using this data, contact Todd Mitchell (mitchell@atmos.washington.edu).
