U.S. Coastal Meteorological Observations Collected at 6-Minute Intervals

NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services has collected meteorological data since the 1990s from stations across U.S. coastlines, the Great Lakes, and territories. The National Ocean Service maintains this long-term database, which includes visibility and other atmospheric parameters. Data are reported in 6-minute intervals to support marine navigation and coastal hazards monitoring.

Use Cases

• Forecasting coastal hazards based on long-term meteorological observations
• Analyzing wind patterns for marine navigation safety based on anemometer data
• Studying atmospheric pressure trends for weather modeling based on barometer readings
• Monitoring air temperature variations in coastal regions based on sensor data

Strengths

• Long-term database maintained since the 1990s
• Data collected from stations across U.S. coastlines, Great Lakes, and territories
• Standard reporting time of 6-minute intervals

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to coastal and territorial station locations

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Data collected from active and historic meteorological stations installed by NOAA's CO-OPS.

Time Range

Since the 1990s

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-17 19:40:37.915363; freshness should be verified

Geography

United States coastline, Great Lakes, connecting channels, and U.S. territories