U.S. HCN Station Inventory File

The station inventory file (INVENT94.ASC) provides a list of the stations in the U.S. HCN. The distribution of these stations is shown in Figure 1. The file contains 1221 lines of data and provides essential information about each station. Each record contains the state number, station number, latitude and longitude coordinates, station elevation, station name, two letter state code, beginning year of record in the station history file, ending year of record in the station history file, beginning year of record for the minimum, mean, average, maximum temperatures, and precipitation in the HCN files, and the beginning year of record for minimum, mean, average, and maximum temperatures in the urban files. There are no missing values in this file. The file may be read using the following FORTRAN format:

  10    READ (5,100,END=999) STACOD, LAT, LONG, ELEV,
     1    STANAME, STATE, BYRSHF, EYRSHF, HCNMN, HCNAVG,
     1    HCNAV2, HCNMX, HCNPCP, URMN, URAVG, URAV2, URMX
        GOTO 10 
C
 100    FORMAT(1I6,2F8.2,1I6,1X,1A30,1A2,11(1X,1I4))

Variable   Variable    Variable                Column    
name       type        width               start     end


STACOD     Integer      6                     1         6
LAT        Real         8                     7        14
LONG       Real         8                    15        22
ELEV       Integer      6                    23        28
STANAME    Character   30                    30        59
STATE      Character    2                    60        61
BYRSHF     Integer      4                    63        66
EYRSHF     Integer      4                    68        71
HCNMN      Integer      4                    73        76
HCNAVG     Integer      4                    78        81
HCNAV2     Integer      4                    83        86
HCNMX      Integer      4                    88        91
HCNPCP     Integer      4                    93        96
URMN       Integer      4                    98       101
URAVG      Integer      4                   103       106
URAV2      Integer      4                   108       111
URMX       Integer      4                   113       116

• STACOD is the unique station code formed by combining the two digit state number [state numbers range from 1 to 48 (e.g., 01 = Alabama, 02=Arizona, . . . 48=Wyoming)] and the four digit station number (values range from 0008 to 9933);
  
• LAT is the station latitude in decimal degrees;
  
• LONG is the station longitude in decimal degrees;
  
• ELEV is the ground elevation at the station, expressed in whole feet above or below mean sea level (values range from -194 to 9065);
  
• STATION is the full name of the cooperative station as of 1994;
  
• STATE is a two-letter state abbreviation (e.g., AL=Alabama, AZ=Arizona, etc.);
  
• BYRSHF is the beginning year of record in the station history file;
  
• EYRSHF is the ending year of record in the station history file (9999 indicates the station is still in operation);
  
• HCNMN is the beginning year of record for a station in the minimum temperature data file;
  
• HCNAVG is the beginning year of record for a station in the mean temperature data file;
  
• HCNAV2 is the beginning year of record for a station in which both the maximum and minimum temperature data are available;
  
• HCNMX is the beginning year of record for a station in the maximum temperature data file;
  
• HCNPCP is the beginning year of record for a station in the precipitation temperature data file;
  
• URMN is the beginning year of record for a station in the minimum temperature, urban heat island effect data file;
  
• URAVG is the beginning year of record for a station in the mean temperature, urban heat island effect data file;
  
• URAV2 is the beginning year of record for a station in which both the maximum and minimum urban heat island effect temperature data are available;
  
• URMX is the beginning year of record for a station in the maximum temperature, urban heat island effect data file.
  

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