U.S. AFGWC Station Library: Global Weather Station Metadata

Prepared by the U.S. Air Force Global Weather Central, this library lists global weather stations with names, WMO numbers, coordinates, and observation type codes. The list supports datasets where only a WMO number is provided for station identification. It is frequently updated by the USAF, with subsets and historical documentation of station periods and moves compiled by DSS.

Use Cases

• Map WMO station numbers to geographic coordinates and names based on the station identification codes.
• Filter stations by observation type or country based on the provided country and observation type codes.
• Analyze historical station coverage and relocation based on the documented period of observation and station moves.
• Enrich weather datasets that only contain WMO identifiers with station metadata like elevation and location.

Strengths

• Includes key station identifiers like WMO number, name, and country code.
• Provides geospatial coordinates (latitude and longitude) and elevation for each station.
• Documentation effort includes historical data on station periods and moves.

Limitations

• Last updated 1999-12-31 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Air Force Global Weather Central (AFGWC)

Collection Method

Compiled and maintained by the USAF, with subsets and historical libraries built by DSS.

Time Range

Historical periods of observation are documented, but specific range is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 1999-12-31 23:59:59.999000.

Geography

Global, as indicated by country codes and station listings.