Historical Data Viewer is a free, interactive website for exploring historical weather, climate, radar, satellite, and environmental data across the United States and beyond. It brings together publicly available datasets from government agencies and research institutions into map-based visualizations that are easy to navigate and explore.
The goal is to make historical weather data more accessible for students, researchers, weather enthusiasts, and anyone curious about past conditions at a given place and time.
The site currently offers 19 interactive data viewers:
Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) and METAR stations are located at airports across the United States and report hourly weather conditions. This viewer displays historical observations including temperature, dewpoint, wind speed and direction (with wind barbs), visibility, sky cover, and present weather conditions. Data is available from 2000 to present, sourced from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The NOAA Global Drifter Program deploys satellite-tracked buoys across the world's oceans to measure sea surface temperature and ocean currents. This viewer shows historical buoy tracks color-coded by sea surface temperature, along with velocity data and animated position playback. Data covers 1987 through 2022, sourced from NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML).
View long-term daily climate records from thousands of US weather stations through the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS). This viewer provides eight analysis modes including day history, year-to-date comparisons, monthly and annual summaries, all-time records, temperature and precipitation trends, and custom date ranges. Data includes daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and snow depth, with some stations reporting data back to 1901.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a volunteer-based network of observers who measure daily precipitation across the United States. This viewer maps historical CoCoRaHS reports with interactive colormaps showing precipitation amounts at each observer location. Data is available from 1998 to present.
Explore historical earthquake events recorded by the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Earthquakes are displayed on the map with magnitude-based coloring and sizing, and include details such as depth, location, and time. The data catalog extends back to 1970 and covers events worldwide.
ERA5 is a global atmospheric reanalysis dataset produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and distributed by NSF NCAR. It provides hourly estimates of atmospheric variables on a global grid by combining model data with observations. This viewer supports both surface and pressure-level variables including temperature, wind, humidity, and precipitation. Data is available from 1940 to present, with a 3–4 month lag from the current date.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) system provides continuous imagery of the Western Hemisphere from geostationary orbit. This viewer displays historical GOES-16 (East) and GOES-18 (West) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) imagery across all 16 spectral bands, including visible, near-infrared, and infrared channels. Data is available from December 2017 to present.
The Global Surface Summary of Day (GSOD) dataset from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information provides daily weather summaries from over 12,000 stations worldwide. Variables include mean temperature, maximum and minimum temperature, dewpoint, sea level pressure, visibility, wind speed, precipitation, and snow depth. Data availability varies by station, with the best global coverage from 1973 to present.
The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) is a NOAA weather model that produces hourly forecasts at 3-kilometer resolution over the contiguous United States. This viewer displays archived HRRR output including surface and upper-air variables such as temperature, wind, reflectivity, and precipitation. Data is sourced from the hrrrzarr archive on AWS and is available from August 2016 to present.
NEXRAD Level 3 products are processed and derived radar outputs generated from Level 2 base data. These include composite reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, echo tops, vertically integrated liquid, and other severe weather products. This viewer supports data from multiple backends including AWS, Google Cloud, and NOAA real-time feeds, with archival data available from March 2020.
Local Storm Reports (LSRs) are issued by National Weather Service offices to document severe and significant weather events as they are reported. This viewer maps historical LSRs including tornado, hail, wind damage, flash flood, and other event types with details on magnitude, location, and remarks. Data is available from 2006 to present, sourced from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) collects surface weather observations from a wide variety of public and private mesonet stations across the United States. This viewer displays historical MADIS observations including temperature, dewpoint, wind, pressure, and precipitation from thousands of stations. Data is available from July 2001 to present.
Mesoscale Discussions (MCDs) are issued by the NWS Storm Prediction Center to highlight areas where severe thunderstorms or heavy rainfall may develop in the near term. This viewer displays historical MCD outlines on the map with details on the meteorological reasoning and affected areas. Data is available from 2010 to present, sourced from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's SPC archive.
The Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system combines data from the national radar network, satellite, surface observations, and numerical weather models to produce high-resolution precipitation and severe weather products. This viewer displays archived MRMS data including radar reflectivity, precipitation rate, precipitation accumulation, and other derived products across the contiguous United States. Data is available from 2014 to present.
This viewer compares MRMS Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) with ground-truth rain gauge observations from CoCoRaHS and MADIS stations. It allows side-by-side analysis of radar-estimated precipitation versus what was actually measured at the surface, useful for understanding radar accuracy and biases in different weather regimes.
The Multi-Year Reanalysis of Remotely Sensed Storms (MYRORSS) is a historical reprocessing of national radar data using the MRMS algorithm. This viewer provides access to derived products including Maximum Estimated Size of Hail (MESH), Severe Hail Index (SHI), Vertically Integrated Liquid (VIL), echo tops, and rotation tracks. Data covers 1998 through 2011.
The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) produces daily snow analysis products for the contiguous United States. This viewer displays historical snow data including snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and snowfall estimates derived from a combination of satellite, airborne, and ground-based observations. Data is available from October 2004 to present.
View global sea surface temperature (SST) data from NOAA's CoastWatch Blended SST analysis. This dataset combines observations from multiple satellite platforms to produce a daily global SST field at approximately 5-kilometer resolution. The viewer displays SST as a color-mapped overlay via WMS tiles and supports click-to-query point readouts with temperature values in Celsius or Fahrenheit. Data is available from September 2002 to present, sourced from NOAA CoastWatch ERDDAP.
The NOAA Storm Events Database, maintained by the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), documents significant weather events reported by NWS personnel across the United States. This viewer maps 48+ event types including tornadoes, hail, flash floods, thunderstorm wind, winter weather, tropical systems, and more. Each event includes begin and end times, location, affected county, WFO, deaths, injuries, property and crop damage estimates, EF scale ratings for tornadoes, and detailed narrative descriptions. Tornado data is available back to 1950; most other event types are available from 1996 to present.
Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs) are weather forecasts issued for airports by the National Weather Service. They include predicted wind direction and speed, visibility, cloud layers, and significant weather conditions for the next 24–30 hours. This viewer decodes and displays historical TAF data for US airports with data available from 2000 to present, sourced from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
The NWS Storm Prediction Center issues tornado watches and severe thunderstorm watches when conditions are favorable for severe weather over a broad area. This viewer displays historical watch outlines on the map with details on the watch type, affected area, and valid times. Data is available from 2010 to present, sourced from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's SPC archive.
All data is sourced from publicly available government and research datasets, including:
The website is built with the following technologies:
For questions, comments, bug reports, feature suggestions, or accessibility issues, please contact:
Micheal Simpson
Email: historicalweatherhwx@gmail.com
Last updated: February 2025