NAQFC: Regional Air Quality Forecast Guidance for Ozone, PM2.5, Smoke, and Dust

NOAA's National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) dataset contains model-generated air quality forecast guidance from three prediction systems: the Air Quality Model (AQM), HYSPLIT, and the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model. The data includes raw and bias-corrected predictions for ozone, PM2.5, smoke, and dust over the CONUS, Alaska, and Hawaii domains, with records dating back to January 2020. Forecasts are produced by NOAA's operational models, which have undergone several version upgrades, with forecast lengths extending from 48 to 72 hours.

Use Cases

• Forecasting ground-level ozone concentrations based on the AQM model outputs.
• Predicting particulate matter (PM2.5) levels using bias-corrected model guidance.
• Tracking smoke transport and deposition from fires based on the RAP model simulations.
• Modeling atmospheric dust concentration over the CONUS domain using HYSPLIT forecasts.
• Analyzing air quality trends across the CONUS, Alaska, and Hawaii regions from 2020 onward.

Strengths

• Includes forecast data from three distinct modeling systems (AQM, HYSPLIT, RAP) for multiple pollutants.
• Provides a multi-year archive with model predictions dating back to 1 January 2020.
• Covers three geographic domains: CONUS, Alaska, and Hawaii.
• Contains both raw and bias-corrected model predictions for key pollutants like ozone and PM2.5.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Dust product coverage is limited to the CONUS domain, not Alaska or Hawaii.

Provenance

Source

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Collection Method

Output from operational numerical forecast models, including the Air Quality Model (AQM), HYSPLIT, and the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model.

Time Range

From 1 January 2020 onward, with operational model version changes in July 2021 and May 2024.

Freshness

Update frequency is unknown; the operational model was upgraded to AQMv7 on 14 May 2024.

Geography

Continental United States (CONUS), Alaska, and Hawaii.