SNF: 1988 Weather and Solar Insolation Data

1988 weather data was collected by the National Weather Service in International Falls, Minnesota, about 80 miles from the SNF. Total solar insolation measurements for the same year were made at Fall Lake Dam in Winton, Minn. using a Yellow Springs solar cell calibrated against an Eppley Pyranometer.

Use Cases

• Analyzing daily temperature trends based on NWS station data.
• Modeling solar energy potential using measured insolation values.
• Correlating atmospheric water vapor indicators with precipitation amounts.
• Calibrating modern solar radiation models against historical pyranometer-calibrated measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection involved calibrated scientific instruments, specifically a Yellow Springs solar cell against an Eppley Pyranometer.
• The dataset's cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals its importance and use in earth science.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts: last updated date is listed as both 2026-04-09 and 1988-12-31, and the authoritative organization is listed as NASA but the data originates from NWS and a University of Minnesota professor.
• Column names and the exact number of data rows are unknown, limiting immediate analytical utility.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1988

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:36:26.553442

Geography

Northern Minnesota, specifically International Falls and Winton (Fall Lake Dam).