Daily Surface Air Temperature

Area Selection:
This page shows daily temperature estimates from the
NCEP Climate Forecast System. View details.
       Click data point on chart to update map below.

Data Source & Information

  • This page provides time series and map visualizations of daily mean surface air temperature (2-meter height) estimates from the NCEP Climate Forecast System (CFS) version 2 (April 2011 – present) and CFS Reanalysis (January 1979 – March 2011). CFS is a numerical climate/weather modeling framework that ingests surface, radiosonde, and satellite observations to estimate the state of the atmosphere through time. These visualizations allow users to explore weather-driven temperature changes within specific years, while also having several decades of daily data for broader climate context. This content is intended for general analysis only. Any apparent record high or low daily temperatures estimated by the Climate Forecast System should be considered with caution and validated against weather station observations and other climate data products. CFS exhibits a winter warm bias over portions of the Antarctic. A comparison of annual mean temperature anomalies for CFS and other datasets can be found here. To learn more about reanalysis refer to Advancing Reanalysis. Monthly means of surface temperature observations 1850 to present available from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information Climate at a Glance.

  • The time series chart displays area-weighted mean temperature estimates for the following domains:

    World (90°S–90°N, 0–360°E)
    Northern Hemisphere (0–90°N, 0–360°E)
    Southern Hemisphere (0–90°S, 0–360°E)
    Arctic (66.5–90°N, 0–360°E)
    Antarctic (66.5–90°S, 0–360°E)
    Tropics (23.5°S–23.5°N, 0–360°E)

    The Climate Forecast System has a horizontal grid resolution of 0.5° x 0.5° (about 55km x 55km at 45°N). Each daily temperature on the chart represents an average across all model gridcells within the defined latitude/longitude bounds for the selected domain. The means are area-weighted to account for the convergence of longitude lines at the poles.

    Individual time series can be hidden or displayed by clicking on a specific the year below the chart. Hide All and Show All buttons are found at the chart lower right. The daily mean temperature map below the chart can be updated by clicking a point on one of the time series. The measurement displayed on the map variable can be switched between temperature and temperature anomaly by clicking the toggle botton at the map top-left.

  • The temperature estimates on this page are calculated from eight timeslices (00, 03, 06, 09, 12, 15, 18, 2100 UTC) for each day in CFS. The chart and maps update daily at about 0500 UTC with values for the preceding day. Daily temperature anomalies are calculated in reference to 1979–2000 CFSR climatology for each specific day of the year.

  • NCAR Command Language is used for data processing and map generation. The interactive time series chart is made with HighCharts. CFS data grids are downloaded daily from the NOAA Operational Model Archive and Data Distribution System (NOMADS).

Last updated 7 December 2023