How to Manage Pests

California Weather Database: Description

This weather database stores current and past weather data for approximately 400 weather stations throughout California. Daily values are available for all stations, and in addition, stations in the PestCast weather networks supply hourly or sub-hourly data.

The weather database stores current and past data.

Current data are supplied by "automatic," "TouchTone," and "PestCast" stations. Data for climate stations are recent, but always three-to-six-months old.

• Automatic stations: microprocessor-based, part of the CIMIS Network operated by California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Automatic (.A) stations supply current daily values of several agriculturally important variables. Data are collected daily by DWR, which then provides them to UC IPM.
• TouchTone stations: provide current weather data from agricultural locations that report weather variables important to agriculture. Volunteers record observations daily and transmit them to the UC IPM computer.
• PestCast stations: provide current weather data monitored inside crop canopies in several research and extension networks. These stations also supply hourly or more frequent data. Data are collected automatically once or twice daily over land-line telephone, cellular phone, or radio telemetry.

Historical records are supplied primarily by "climate stations."

• Climate stations provide long-term records, for most stations since 1951. Stations are maintained by U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The stations also provide current weather data for dates prior to the last three to six months (we receive the data several months after observation). The stations available here have been selected for their long periods of record, as well as for their locations that represent different climates in California.
• Long-term (30-year) averages are available for all climate stations.
• Some Automatic and TouchTone stations have records that start as early as 1981.

Station names

Station names are unique and may be an abbreviated version of the actual location name.

• Automatic station names ends with ".A"
• Climate stations end with ".C"
• TouchTone stations end with ".T"
• PestCast stations end with ".P"

Use county lists or maps that show all stations within a county or network to find your station.

Networks

• Automatic stations are part of the California Department of Water Resources CIMIS Network.
• Climate stations are part of NOAA's Cooperative Network.
• TouchTone stations are part of UC IPM's TouchTone Network.
• PestCast stations are located in small research networks, usually within a county or a defined crop-production region. Within a network, there is usually some uniformity among stations, such as the crop in which they are located, the variables, or the measurements that are reported.

Reporting intervals

All stations report daily measurements. PestCast stations also report hourly and, in some cases, at more frequent intervals. Data are gathered from the stations only once or twice a day, however.

Station descriptions

Stations descriptions contain information about the location, site, sensors, and variables measured by weather stations for which data are stored in the California Weather Database.

Location information

• County
• Nearest City
• Latitude, Longitude, Elevation

Station and site characteristics

• Ground cover around the station
• Crop in which station is located, if any
• Manufacturer of station

Available data

• First and last dates for which data are stored
• Reporting intervals available
• Stored variables summary
• Details about reported variables
• Sensor type
• Sensor height or other deployment information
• Reported units
• Date data for the variable begins
• Backup stations, if any
• Percentage of the data that is not missing for the period stored

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