Editing National Climatic Data Center

{{Short description|Active US archive of weather data.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name = National Climatic Data Center
|formed ={{start date|1934}}
|dissolved={{end date|2015}}
|superseding=[[National Centers for Environmental Information]]
|jurisdiction=[[Federal government of the United States|United States government]]
|headquarters=[[Asheville, North Carolina]]
|latd=
|longd=
|region_code=
|employees=
|budget=$65&nbsp;million (2013)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/annualreports/2013-annual.pdf | title=2013 Annual Report | publisher=NCDC | access-date=August 20, 2015 | editor1=Osborne, Susan | editor2=Vincent, Katy | pages=29}}</ref>
|chief1_name=[[Thomas R. Karl]]
|chief1_position=Director
|website={{URL|ncdc.noaa.gov}}
}}
The United States '''National Climatic Data Center''' ('''NCDC'''), previously known as the '''National Weather Records Center (NWRC)''', in [[Asheville]], [[North Carolina]], was the world's largest active archive of weather data.

In 2015, the NCDC merged with two other federal environmental records agencies to become the [[National Centers for Environmental Information]] (NCEI).<ref name="ncei.noaa.gov">{{Cite web |date=April 2, 2020 |title=About |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/about}}</ref>
[[File:NOAA GLOBAL LAND AND OCEAN TEMP DEPARTURES FROM AVG PAST (1981-2010), FEB 2015.jpg|thumb|350px|right| ''Courtesy of:'' National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, February 2015.]]

==History==
In 1934, the U.S. government established a tabulation unit in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, to process weather records.  Climate records and upper air observations were punched onto cards in 1936.  This organization was transferred to [[Asheville, North Carolina]], in 1951, where the National Weather Records Center (NWRC).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_topicsandpersonnel/1961.pdf|page=82|date=May 1961|journal=Weather Bureau Topics|publisher=[[United States Weather Bureau]]|title=Forecasts and Warnings|author=Staff|access-date=2012-04-22}}</ref> It was housed in the [[Arcade Building (Asheville, North Carolina)|Grove Arcade Building]] in Asheville, North Carolina.

Processing of the climate data was accomplished at Weather Records Processing Centers at [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]]; [[Kansas City, Missouri]]; and San Francisco, California, until January 1, 1963, when it was consolidated with the NWRC.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/wb_topicsandpersonnel/1963.pdf|date=January 1963|access-date=2012-04-22|title=WRPC Consolidation Nears Completion at Asheville NWRC|author=Staff|publisher=[[United States Weather Bureau]]|page=7}}</ref>

In 1967, the agency was renamed the National Climatic Data Center.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/journals/essa_world/QC8an1U461966oct.pdf|title=Weather Facts Find Ever Expanding Market|author=Luther Thigpen|date=October 1966|publisher=Environmental Satellite Services Administration|journal=ESSA World|page=14|access-date=2012-04-20}}</ref>

In 1995, the NCDC moved into the newly completed Veach-Baley Federal Complex in downtown Asheville.

In 2015, the NCDC merged with the National Geophysical Data Center and the National Oceanographic Data Center to become the [[National Centers for Environmental Information]] (NCEI).<ref name="ncei.noaa.gov" />

==Sources==
Data were received from a wide variety of sources, including [[weather satellite]]s, [[radar]], [[automated airport weather station]]s, [[National Weather Service]] (NWS) [[Cooperative Observer]]s, aircraft, ships, [[radiosonde]]s, [[wind profiler]]s, [[rocketsonde]]s, [[solar radiation]] networks, and NWS Forecast/Warnings/Analyses Products.

==Climate focus==
The Center provided historical perspectives on [[climate]] which were vital to studies on global [[climate change]], the [[greenhouse effect]], and other [[environmental issues]]. The Center stored information essential to industry, agriculture, science, [[hydrology]], transportation, [[recreation]], and engineering. These services are still provided by the NCEI.

The NCDC said:
<blockquote>
Evidence is mounting that global climate is changing. While it is generally accepted that humans are negatively influencing the climate, the extent to which humans are responsible is still under study. Regardless of the causes, it is essential that a baseline of long-term climate data be compiled; therefore, global data must be acquired, quality controlled, and archived. Working with international institutions such as the [[International Council of Scientific Unions]], the [[World Data Centers]], and the [[World Meteorological Organization]], NCDC develops standards by which data can be exchanged and made accessible.<br /><br />NCDC provides the historical perspective on climate. Through the use of over a hundred years of weather observations, reference data bases are generated. From this knowledge the clientele of NCDC can learn from the past to prepare for a better tomorrow. Wise use of our most valuable natural resource, climate, is the goal of climate researchers, state and regional climate centers, business, and commerce.<ref>[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/about/whatisncdc.html NCDC: What Is NCDC?]</ref>
</blockquote>

==Associated entities==
NCDC also maintained World Data Center for Meteorology, Asheville. The four World Centers (U.S., Russia, Japan and China) have created a free and open situation in which data and dialogue are exchanged.

NCDC maintained the [[U.S. Climate Reference Network]] datasets and a vast number of other climate monitoring products.<ref>[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/monitoring.html NCDC: Climate Monitoring<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Climate Prediction Center]]
*[[Environmental data rescue]]
*[[Monthly Climatic Data for the World]]
*[[National Severe Storms Laboratory]]
*[[NOAA National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS)]]
*[[State of the Climate]]
*[[Storm Prediction Center]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Climate change organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Climate change assessment and attribution]]
[[Category:National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service|Climatic Data Center]]
[[Category:National Weather Service|Climatic Data Center]]
[[Category:Oceanography]]
[[Category:Asheville, North Carolina]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in Louisiana]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in North Carolina]]