GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Minimum Temperature Yearly Normal for 1981-2010 from TopoWx

Data Provider Montana Climate Office
Date 01/01/1981 - 12/31/2010
Content Type Downloadable Data
Abstract This raster dataset shows the normal minimum temperature in degrees Celsius with a grid cell resolution of 800 meters. The normal is defined as the arithmetic average of minimum daily temperature over a 30-year period. The current 30-year interval for calculating normals is 1980 to 2010. The standard deviation is also provided for calculating daily or annual z-score departures or similar statistics. Normals serve as a reference point for comparing current climatological trends to that of the past. A 30-year period is long enough to filter out any inter-annual variation or anomalies, but sufficiently short enough to reflect longer term climatic trends. The 30-year interval was selected by international agreement, based on the recommendations of the International Meteorological Conference in Warsaw in 1933.
Purpose Gridded topographic-climatic datasets are increasingly used to drive many ecological and hydrological models and assess climate change impacts. These datasets can be an invaluable tool for spatially explicit ecological and hydrological modeling, for facilitating better end-user understanding, and for advancing community-driven improvements. While the use of such datasets is ubiquitous, their inherent limitations are largely unknown or overlooked particularly in regard to spatial uncertainty and climate trends. To address these limitations, TopoWx (pronounced 'twix') provides a statistical framework for producing a 30-arcsec (800-meter) resolution gridded dataset of daily minimum and minimum temperature and related uncertainty from 1948 to 2012 for the conterminous United States. Like similar datasets, this derivation uses weather station data and elevation-based predictors of temperature, but also implement a unique spatio-temporal interpolation that incorporates remotely sensed 1-km land skin temperature. The framework is able to capture several complex topographic-climatic variations, including minimum temperature inversions, and represent spatial uncertainty in interpolated normal temperatures. Homogenization of input station data also allows interpolated temperature trends to be more consistent with US Historical Climate Network trends compared to those of existing interpolated topographic-climatic datasets. Overall mean absolute errors for annual normal minimum and maximum temperature are 0.78 and 0.56 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Supplemental Information Processed from TopWx NetCDF raster file source using Python 2.7 code maintained by the Montana Climate Office.
The Montana Climate Office (MCO) provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The MCO did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The MCO provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the MCO be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The MCO makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The MCO reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
Data Access ftp://mco.cfc.umt.edu/tmin/yearly_normals/Readme.html
Distributor Michael D. Sweet Research and Information Systems Specialist Montana Climate Office
32 Campus Drive
Missoula, Montana 59812-0576
Telephone: 406.243.5265
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Fax:
Email: michael.sweet@umontana.edu
Distribution liability The Montana Climate Office (MCO) provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The MCO did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The MCO provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the MCO be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The MCO makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The MCO reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
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Metadata date 02/01/2015

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