SNF: 1983 Weather and Solar Insolation Measurements

National Weather Service data from International Falls, Minnesota, is combined with precise solar insolation measurements from Fall Lake Dam, Winton, Minn., calibrated with an Eppley Pyranometer. The dataset provides representative daily climatology for the Superior National Forest region, approximately 80 miles from the primary weather station. Columns likely contain surface temperature, precipitation, water vapor indicators, and solar radiation values.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily temperature and precipitation trends based on NWS station data.
• Modeling solar energy potential using calibrated insolation measurements.
• Studying regional climate representativeness for an area 80 miles from the primary station.
• Correlating atmospheric water vapor indicators with precipitation events.

Strengths

• Includes calibrated solar insolation measurements using a Yellow Springs solar cell against an Eppley Pyranometer.
• Data is sourced from authoritative institutions: the National Weather Service and a University of Minnesota professor.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals importance and validation.

Limitations

• Metadata conflicts: last update date is listed as both 2026-04-09 and 1983-12-31, suggesting possible archival status or metadata errors.
• Column names and exact row counts are unknown across all sources.
• Dataset appears to be a single year (1983), limiting longitudinal analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Weather Service (International Falls, MN) and Prof. Donald Baker, University of Minnesota.

Collection Method

Weather data collected by NWS; solar insolation measured at Fall Lake Dam.

Time Range

1983

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:36:49.634024 (Data.gov), but primary data is from 1983.

Geography

International Falls, Minnesota and Winton, Minnesota (Fall Lake Dam), representative of the Superior National Forest (SNF) area.