FIFE Historic Monthly Precipitation Data for Kansas

FIFE Historic Monthly Meteorology Data provides monthly precipitation totals for Manhattan, Kansas from January 1858 to December 1989. Kansas State University collected daily weather observations following National Weather Service procedures and summed them to produce monthly values. This dataset was used as a historical reference for the FIFE (First ISCCP Regional Experiment) project.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term precipitation trends and variability for a single location in Kansas.
• Validating or calibrating hydrological or climate models with a 131-year observational record.
• Studying changes in monthly precipitation patterns across different decades and seasons.
• Providing historical context for agricultural or water resource studies in the region.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range of 131 years (1858-1989).
• Data collection followed standardized National Weather Service procedures.
• Its presence on multiple official platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov) indicates curation and importance for research.

Limitations

• Column names and the exact row count are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date (1989-12-01 vs. 2026-03-13).
• Spatial coverage is limited to a single location (Manhattan, Kansas).

Provenance

Source

Kansas State University, following National Weather Service procedures.

Collection Method

Daily precipitation observations summed to produce monthly totals.

Time Range

1858-01-01 to 1989-12-31

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:39:43.899538

Geography

Manhattan, Kansas, USA.