This API provides several categories of gridded weather datasets:
\rThe API also provides miscellaneous other location-based data, including elevation, watersheds, hardiness zones, MLRA, etc.
\r| Parameter | \rLevel, Layer | \rDatabase Column | \rShorthand | \rUnit | \rData Source | \r
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air temperature | \r2m above ground | \rair_temperature | \rTMP | \r°C | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Specific humidity | \r2m above ground | \rhumidity | \rSPFH | \rkg kg-1 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Relative humidity | \r2m above ground | \rrelative_humidity | \r\r | fraction | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Atmospheric pressure | \rSurface | \rpressure | \rPRES | \rPa | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Zonal wind speed | \r10m above ground | \rzonal_wind_speed | \rUGRD | \rm s-1 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Meridional wind speed | \r10m above ground | \rmeridional_wind_speed | \rVGRD | \rm s-1 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Wind speed | \r10m above ground | \rwind_speed | \r\r | m s-1 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Downward short-wave radiation flux | \rSurface | \rshortwave_radiation | \rDSWRF | \rW m-2 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Downward long-wave radiation flux | \rSurface | \rlongwave_radiation | \rDLWRF | \rW m-2 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Rain fraction of total cloud water | \rSurface | \rconvective_precipitation | \rFRAIN | \rproportion | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Convective Available Potential Energy | \r180m above ground | \rpotential_energy | \rCAPE | \rJ kg-1 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Potential Evaporation | \rSurface | \rpotential_evaporation | \rPEVAP | \rkg m-2 | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| Rainfall | \rSurface | \rprecipitation | \rAPCP | \rmm | \rNLDAS-2 | \r
| MRMS | \r|||||
| Growing degree days | \r— | \rgdd | \r\r | \r | Derived | \r
\r These variables describe\r surface energy balance, vegetation, soil layers, canopy water, snowpack, and hydrology,\r and are available through the attributes parameter.\r
| Parameter | \rUnits | \rDescription | \r
|---|---|---|
| nswrs | \rW/m² | \rNet shortwave radiation flux at the surface (downward minus reflected). | \r
| nlwrs | \rW/m² | \rNet longwave radiation flux at the surface (downward minus upward). | \r
| dswrf | \rW/m² | \rDownward shortwave radiation flux at the surface (incoming solar). | \r
| dlwrf | \rW/m² | \rDownward longwave radiation flux at the surface (incoming thermal IR). | \r
| lhtfl | \rW/m² | \rLatent heat net flux (energy associated with evapotranspiration). | \r
| shtfl | \rW/m² | \rSensible heat net flux (heating of the air from the surface). | \r
| gflux | \rW/m² | \rGround heat flux (heat into or out of the soil). | \r
| snohf | \rW/m² | \rSnow phase-change heat flux (energy for snowmelt and refreezing). | \r
| asnow | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rTotal solid precipitation (snowfall) accumulated over the period. | \r
| arain | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rTotal liquid precipitation (rainfall) accumulated over the period. | \r
| evp | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rTotal evaporation / evapotranspiration from the surface. | \r
| ssrun | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rStorm surface runoff (overland flow) from the grid cell. | \r
| bgrun | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rBaseflow / groundwater runoff (subsurface drainage). | \r
| snom | \rkg/m² per hour (≈ mm/hour) | \rSnowmelt rate (water-equivalent snowmelt). | \r
| avsft | \rK | \rAverage surface skin temperature. | \r
| albdo | \r% (0–100) | \rBroadband surface albedo (fraction of shortwave radiation reflected). | \r
| weasd | \rkg/m² (≈ mm SWE) | \rWater equivalent of accumulated snow depth (snow water equivalent). | \r
| snowc | \r% (0–100) | \rSnow cover fraction of the grid cell. | \r
| snod | \rm | \rSnow depth. | \r
| tsoil | \rK | \rSoil temperature (layer-dependent depth). | \r
| soilm1 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 1 (top layer). | \r
| soilm2 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 2. | \r
| soilm3 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 3. | \r
| soilm4 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 4. | \r
| soilm5 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 5. | \r
| soilm6 | \rkg/m² | \rSoil moisture content in layer 6 (deepest layer). | \r
| mstav1 | \r% (0–100) | \rMoisture availability (relative soil wetness) for upper soil. | \r
| mstav2 | \r% (0–100) | \rMoisture availability (relative soil wetness) for deeper/column soil. | \r
| evcw | \rW/m² | \rCanopy water evaporation heat flux. | \r
| trans | \rW/m² | \rTranspiration heat flux (through vegetation). | \r
| evbs | \rW/m² | \rDirect evaporation from bare soil (latent heat flux). | \r
| sbsno | \rW/m² | \rSublimation from snow (latent heat flux from snow surface). | \r
| cnwat | \rkg/m² | \rPlant canopy surface water storage (intercepted water). | \r
| acond | \rm/s | \rAerodynamic conductance between surface/canopy and atmosphere. | \r
| ccond | \rm/s | \rCanopy (stomatal) conductance aggregated over vegetation. | \r
| lai | \rdimensionless (m²/m²) | \rLeaf Area Index (leaf area per unit ground area). | \r
| veg | \r% (0–100) | \rVegetation cover fraction of the grid cell. | \r
Returns hourly gridded weather data from NLDAS-2 and MRMS datasets.
\nemailA valid email address used for communication about API usage or changes.
\nIf the address is found to be invalid, API access will be disabled for that email.
\nstart and end\n Specify the date range for the query in YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM format, or as a relative day offset (e.g., -15 = 15 days ago, 0 = today).\n
Specific month (Nov 2018)
\n \n\n ℹ️ Note: NLDAS-2 data is typically delayed by a few days for quality control, so the most recent days may be missing.\n Data for missing days is automatically \"predicted\" based on 5-year averages.\n You'll see a predicted column when that occurs:\n
This also allows you to retrieve forecast data for future dates:
\n \nlat and lonlocation is missing)\n Latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (WGS84).
\nSingle point
\n \nMultiple points (must have equal numbers of latitudes and longitudes)
\n \nlocationlat and lon are missing)\n \n A free-form location input such as an address, ZIP code, city, county, or state.\n If not an exact address, the API returns results for the centroid of the location's bounding box.\n
\nPunctuation, capitalization, and common abbreviations are all accepted.
\nEmpire State Building:
\n \n \nAthens Georgia:
\n \n \nKansas:
\n \n \nattributes\n (optional)\n Comma-separated list of attributes to include in the output.
\n\n date, lat, lon, air_temperature, humidity, relative_humidity, pressure, zonal_wind_speed, meridional_wind_speed, wind_speed,\n longwave_radiation, convective_precipitation, potential_energy, potential_evaporation, shortwave_radiation, precipitation\n \n \n nswrs, nlwrs, dswrf, dlwrf, lhtfl, shtfl, gflux, snohf, asnow, arain, evp, ssrun, bgrun, snom, avsft, albdo, weasd, snowc,\n snod, tsoil, soilm1, soilm2, soilm3, soilm4, soilm5, soilm6, mstav1, mstav2, evcw, trans, evbs, sbsno, cnwat, acond, ccond,\n lai, veg\n \n date is always included, even if omitted from the list.lat and lon are automatically included when using options=rect.TMP for air_temperature, APCP for precipitation).\n mosaic is shorthand for all Mosaic attributes.nldas is shorthand for all NLDAS-2 forcing attributes.Air temperature and Rain (full column names)
\n \nAir temperature and Rain (GRIB short names)
\n \nMosaic attributes only
\n \nAir temperature and Mosaic attributes only
\n \noptionsA comma-separated list of modifiers
\nutc|gmtOutputs results in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) instead of local time.
\nLocal time (default):
\n \nUTC time:
\n \n\n When returning local time, the API may need to query Google’s timezone service the first time it sees a new location;\n after that, results are served from cache.\n Using UTC skips timezone lookups altogether, but it requires clients to handle any time-zone conversions themselves.\n
\nmrmsOutput MRMS precipitation data instead of NLDAS-2.
\nThis option is ignored when using the stats parameter or when options=rect.
\n ⚠️ Performance note: MRMS provides 1 km × 1 km data —\n about 169 MRMS grid cells for each NLDAS-2 cell.\n Queries using MRMS can therefore be much slower and heavier on the database. Use only when the higher resolution of MRMS is required.\n
\nExamples
\nNLDAS-2 precipitation:
\n \nMRMS precipitation:
\n \nrect\n Treats two latitude/longitude pairs as opposite corners of a rectangle (NE:SW or NW:SE).
\nUsing lat/lon pairs
\n \nUsing a location
\n \nData within the defined rectangle is returned at the available grid resolution.
\ngraph\n Provides basic graphing options when output=html.
explain=true\n Executes an SQL EXPLAIN statement on the generated query.
\n Useful for troubleshooting, performance analysis, or query optimization.
\n Only recommended for debugging — results are intended for technical inspection.\n
output=[json|html|csv]json)\n \n Specifies the format of the response:\n
json – Standard structured data (default)html – Browser-friendly table view. (Click a column header to sort.)csv – Comma-separated values, suitable for spreadsheetsJSON output
\n \nHTML output
\n \nCSV output
\n \nstats\n Applies SQL-style statistical functions to one or more attributes.
\n Supports functions such as avg, min, max, sum, and count.\n
Average air temperature and rainfall
\n \nMaximum temperature and total precipitation
\n \ngroup=[doy|month|year|growingyear]stats is missing)\n Groups the statistical results by a chosen time period.
\ndoy – Day of yearmonth – Monthyear – Calendar yeargrowingyear – August through JulyAverage air temperature per day of year
\n \nAverage air temperature per month
\n \nAverage air temperature per year
\n \nAverage air temperature per growing year (Aug-Jul)
\n \n\n limit (optional)
\n Restricts the number of rows returned. If omitted, all matching records are included.\n
\n offset (optional)
\n Starting position (0-based) for returned rows. Use with limit for pagination.\n
\n order (optional, defaults to date)
\n Sort field for results. Append desc for descending order (e.g., order=air_temperature desc).\n
\n where (optional)
\n Conditional filter. Supports SQL-style comparisons: =, <>, >, <, >=, <=, and logical AND / OR.\n
First 10 records (no filter)
\n \nNext 10 records (skip the first 10)
\n \nSort by descending air temperature
\n \nFilter: precipitation > 10 mm
\n \nCombined: top 10 records where precipitation > 10 mm (sorted high→low)
\n \nReturns daily NLDAS-2 data aggregated from hourly records.
\nSupports the same parameters as /hourly, except options=mrms (not supported).
\n precipitation
\n longwave_radiation
\n shortwave_radiation
\n potential_energy
\n potential_evaporation
\n convective_precipitation\n \n \n min_air_temperature, max_air_temperature, avg_air_temperature
\n min_humidity, max_humidity, avg_humidity
\n min_relative_humidity, max_relative_humidity, avg_relative_humidity
\n min_pressure, max_pressure, avg_pressure
\n min_zonal_wind_speed, max_zonal_wind_speed, avg_zonal_wind_speed,
\n min_meridional_wind_speed, max_meridional_wind_speed, avg_meridional_wind_speed
\n min_wind_speed, max_wind_speed, avg_wind_speed\n \n \n In addition to the standard /hourly parameters,\n this route can output Growing Degree Days (GDD) — available as the column gdd.\n GDD is based on the calculations at\n https://ndawn.ndsu.nodak.edu/help-corn-growing-degree-days.html\n
\n The calculation uses the following parameters:\n
\ngddbase – Base temperature threshold (°C).gddmin – Minimum daily temperature limit (°C).gddmax – Maximum daily temperature cap (°C).Examples:
\nDaily precipitation for a month (single point)
\n \nDaily min/max/avg air temperature for a year
\n \nUse a place name instead of lat/lon
\n \nLast 30 days (relative dates)
\n \nRectangle query (two corners; NE:SW or NW:SE)
\n \nUTC timestamps instead of local time
\n \nFilter + sort + paginate (top rainy days)
\n \nDaily Growing Degree Days
\n \nCumulative Growing Degree Days
\n \nReturns 5-year average NLDAS-2 data aggregated from hourly records.
\nSupports the same parameters as /hourly, except options=mrms (not supported).
For start and end dates, the year may be omitted (use MM-DD or MM-DD HH:MM).
If start and end dates are not provided, they default to '01-01' and '12-31'.
See /hourly for example queries, substituting averages for hourly.
\n Returns minimum, maximum, and average temperature,\n along with minimum, maximum, and average total precipitation for a specified range of years.\n
\n\n If the year parameter is omitted, results default to the last 5 years.\n
10-year stats for a location
\n \nPrevious 5-year stats for a lat/lon
\n \nReturns the closest precipitation data (inches) to (lat, lon), along with distance to the weather station in meters.
\n\n Data is based on 15-year normals compiled from\n \n https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-annualseasonal/2006-2020/access/\n \n
\nPrecipitation data for a location:
\n \nPrecipitation data for a lat/lon:
\n \n\n Outputs the weather station, the dates of first and last freeze, and the dates of first and last frost.\n
\n\n Frost data is based on 30-year climate normals, downloaded from\n \n https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals\n \n
\nFrost data for a location:
\nFrost data for a lat/lon:
\n \nElevation data for a location:
\n \nElevation data for a lat/lon:
\n \n\n Returns watershed (HUC) attributes based on one of:\n
\nlat,lon)location, which is geocoded to lat/lon)state - 2-letter abbreviation)huc)If no filter is provided, returns the HUC12 containing the point.
\n\n The optional attributes parameter is a comma-separated list of fields to return, which may include any of the following:\n
\n huc12, name, huc10, huc10name, huc8, huc8name, huc6, huc6name, huc4, huc4name, huc2, huc2name, tnmid, metasourceid,\n sourcedatadesc, sourceoriginator, sourcefeatureid, loaddate, referencegnis_ids, areaacres, areasqkm, states, hutype, humod,\n tohuc, noncontributingareaacres, noncontributingareasqkm, globalid, shape_length, shape_area, polygonarray, polygon\n
\n When attributes is omitted, a default set of identifiers and metadata is returned;\n setting polygon=true includes geometry fields in that default.\n
Watershed data for a lat/lon:
\n \nWatershed data for a location, with polygon:
\n \nWatershed data for a state:
\nWatershed data for HUC prefix:
\nReturns county metadata for the point at (lat,lon).
\n Optionally accept attributes (comma-separated) to choose fields;\n using polygon in attributes expands to polygonarray (GeoJSON coordinates) and polygon (WKT).\n
\n If attributes is omitted, returns county, state, state_code, countyfips, statefips;\n setting polygon=true adds the geometry fields.\n
County data for a location
\nCounty data for a lat/lon
\nCounty data including polygon
\n \nReturns hardiness zone metadata for the point at (lat,lon).
Setting polygon=true adds the geometry fields.
Hardiness zone data for a location
\n \nHardiness zone data for a lat/lon
\nHardiness zone data including polygon
\n \n\n Returns MLRA (Major Land Resource Area) data based on either a point (lat,lon) or a specific MLRA symbol (mlra).\n
\n If mlra is provided, returns the MLRA’s name, symbol, associated Land Resource Region (lrrsym, lrrname), and aggregated counties, states, codes, and FIPS values that intersect the MLRA;\n optionally includes geometry fields when polygon=true.\n
\n If lat/lon are provided instead, returns the MLRA polygon(s) containing that point,\n with attributes defined by the attributes parameter (comma-separated list, where polygon expands to both GeoJSON polygonarray and WKT polygon).\n Defaults to returning name, mlrarsym, lrrsym, and lrrname.\n
MLRA data for a location
\nMLRA data for a lat/lon
\nMLRA data including polygon
\n \n\n Predicts van Genuchten parameters from soil characterization data (sand, silt, clay; optional bulk density, th33, th1500).\n
\n\n Calls the API described at\n https://github.com/usda-ars-ussl/rosetta-soil,\n and simply handles the CORS issue with that server.\n
\n\n Currently used for the Water DST only.\n
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\nReturns the database size as a human-readable string (e.g., '12 TB').
\nReturns tables in the weather schema with a positive estimated row count.
\nReturns the number of tables and approximate number of rows in the database.
\nLists all indexes on non-system tables, ordered by index name.
\nReturns the number of indexes.
\nFor all locations searched by address rather than coordinates, returns a list of matching addresses along with their latitude/longitude and bounding boxes.
\nView all currently-running queries.
\nView sizes per partition.
\n\n Retrieves recent API calls, including:\n
\ndate – timestamp of the requestip – client IP addressms – execution time in millisecondsquery – request\n By default, returns calls from the most recent 14 days.\n You can control the lookback window with the days query parameter (allowed range 1–30 days;\n values above 30 are clamped to 30).\n
\n Results are sorted by descending date by default,\n but can be sorted by descending execution time using the order query parameter.\n
Recent API calls (last 14 days, sorted by date)
\nRecent API calls (last 7 days, sorted by date)
\nRecent API calls (last 30 days, sorted by time to run)
\n \n