1977 Minnesota Weather and Solar Insolation Data

Minnesota weather data from 1977, collected by the National Weather Service in International Falls and solar insolation measurements from Fall Lake Dam in Winton. The dataset includes atmospheric temperature, water vapor, precipitation, and solar radiation parameters. Data collection involved calibrated instruments, including a Yellow Springs solar cell.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily temperature and precipitation trends for 1977 in northern Minnesota.
• Correlating measured solar insolation values with atmospheric conditions.
• Validating regional climate models using historical surface temperature and water vapor data.
• Studying seasonal variations in solar radiation using calibrated pyranometer measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection involved calibrated instruments, specifically a Yellow Springs solar cell calibrated against an Eppley Pyranometer.
• Weather data is considered representative of the Superior National Forest area despite collection 80 miles away in International Falls.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown; the last update date conflicts between 1977 and 2026.
• The dataset is limited to a single year (1977) and a specific region in Minnesota.

Provenance

Source

National Weather Service (weather data); Prof. Donald Baker, University of Minnesota (solar insolation).

Collection Method

Weather data collected by NWS; solar insolation measured with a calibrated Yellow Springs solar cell.

Time Range

1977

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:07:45.143537

Geography

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