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Development, testing, and public use of the NC CRONOS database (Climate Retrieval and Observations Network Of the Southeast)
Mark S. Brooks, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC; and R. Ellis, R. Boyles, and S. Raman
The NC CRONOS Database, developed by the State Climate Office of NC, enables the public to retrieve data from 242 automated weather stations in and around North Carolina. Twenty-six of the 242 stations are maintained by the SCO, which include additional sensors such as evapotranspiration, solar radiation, and soil temperature and soil moisture. Other networks integrated into this database include NWS METAR observations, USDA/NRCS SCAN observations, and measurements from RAWS sensors used by the forest service community.
NC CRONOS went online on September 12, 2003 as a basic method for retrieving hourly weather observations. Since its inception, NC CRONOS has grown in the amount of available data and its functionality. Daily and monthly compilations of data are now available. Additionally, time series plots of nearly all parameters can be spontaneously generated. The SCO even uses data from CRONOS in data assimilation for in-house real-time mesoscale modeling. Data from Cooperative Observer Stations will soon be available via NC CRONOS. Climate summaries and/or normals will also be available for all stations in late 2005. In addition to weather data, NC CRONOS will soon link to water data from the USGS. Real-time stream flow, water depth, and discharge rates will be available from sites in and around North Carolina. This data will significantly enhance NC CRONOS' value to researchers and citizens.
Since 2001, the SCO has been archiving radar and satellite imagery over North Carolina. Soon, these images will be available directly within CRONOS and specific to each station. The steps and challenges involved in the development of the NC CRONOS database will be described.
Session 1, Climate Products and Data Sets
Monday, 20 June 2005, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM, North & Center Ballroom
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