1976 Weather and Solar Insolation Data for Northern Minnesota

NASA provides National Weather Service daily climatology data for 1976 from International Falls, Minnesota, representative of the Superior National Forest area. The dataset includes total solar insolation measurements from Fall Lake Dam in Winton, Minn., collected by a University of Minnesota professor using calibrated instruments. This is a historical record from a single year.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily temperature and precipitation trends for 1976 in northern Minnesota.
• Studying solar radiation (insolation) levels using calibrated pyranometer measurements.
• Correlating atmospheric water vapor indicators with other weather variables.
• Establishing a baseline climatology for the Superior National Forest area.
• Validating or calibrating regional climate models with historical point-source data.

Strengths

• Data collection involved calibrated scientific instruments, specifically a Yellow Springs solar cell calibrated against an Eppley Pyranometer for insolation.
• Weather data is sourced from the authoritative National Weather Service.
• The dataset's cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: the last update date is listed as 2026-03-12 on Data.gov (likely an error) and 1976-12-31 on NASA EarthData.
• No column names, row counts, or exact file sizes are provided by any source, limiting immediate usability.
• The dataset covers only a single year (1976), providing a very narrow temporal snapshot.

Provenance

Source

National Weather Service (weather data); Prof. Donald Baker, Department of Soil Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul (solar insolation data).

Collection Method

Weather data collected by the National Weather Service station in International Falls, MN. Solar insolation measured at Fall Lake Dam, Winton, MN.

Time Range

1976

Freshness

1976-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

International Falls and Winton, Minnesota, USA, representative of the Superior National Forest area.