Global Hourly Weather Station Explorer (GHCNh)

Explore NOAA/NCEI GHCNh hourly and synoptic observations by country, station and date, with interactive plots and bounded Excel exports.

Explore global hourly station observations

Climate Explorer provides an independent interface for the NOAA/NCEI GHCNh archive. Browse fixed land stations by country, select a period of up to 366 days, and inspect hourly or synoptic temperature, moisture, wind, pressure, visibility and precipitation fields where the station reports them.

NOAA/NCEI maintains, curates, quality-controls, and publishes the GHCNh archive using observations from contributing national and international meteorological networks. Climate Explorer retrieves, parses, and presents those records; NOAA/NCEI remains the authoritative source for the archive and its documentation.

Pro Tip

Click the Maximize button in the top-right corner of the explorer frame to expand to Full Screen mode for optimal map and chart visibility. Click it again or press Esc to exit.

Dataset facts

Official source
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information GHCNh.
Coverage
Fixed land stations worldwide; station-dependent hourly and synoptic records extend from the late eighteenth century to the present.
Update frequency
NOAA updates the archive daily.
Licence
CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication; retain NOAA/NCEI attribution and source metadata.
Important limitation
Record length, reporting interval and available variables differ substantially by station and contributing source; quality flags should be retained in analysis.
Coverage varies by place and period

Use the country filter to see which stations are currently represented. An absent station, parameter or year means the selected archive inventory does not expose it here; it should not be interpreted as evidence that observations never existed.

About this Data

The GHCNh (Global Historical Climatology Network hourly) is NOAA/NCEI’s next-generation hourly and synoptic archive. NOAA reports that version 1 integrates approximately 110 contributing sources into harmonized period-of-record station files.

Climate Explorer provides an interactive way to inspect this network without first parsing the source files. Use it to:

  • find a station and confirm its identifier, coordinates, elevation and period of record;
  • examine the timing and duration of a weather event within one station record;
  • compare available variables and identify gaps before exporting a bounded interval.

Hourly Records Across Borders

GHCNh brings station records from multiple national networks into one archive. It includes observations from the United States, Canada, and countries worldwide, allowing the same interface to be used for cross-border station comparisons. Coverage, variables, and record length still differ by station and contributing network.

The dataset’s hourly resolution can reveal the diurnal cycle and short-lived meteorological changes that daily summaries may hide.

How to use this tool

  1. Global Navigation: The map starts with a global view. Click on any blue dot to select a station.
  2. Filter by Country: Use the sidebar dropdown to instantly zoom into a specific nation’s network (e.g., “United Kingdom”, “Brazil”, “South Africa”).
  3. Adjust Time Window: Because hourly data is dense, the dashboard loads a 1-year rolling window by default. Use the Date Range slider to move this window backwards in time to explore historical decades.
  4. Inspect & Export:
    • Plots: Review the parameter panels that appear for the selected station and interval.
    • Data: Inspect the core parsed hourly table and use Export Hourly Excel to download the selected records.

How to Interpret GHCNh Records

GHCNh is best understood as a global hourly reference archive. It is designed for questions where sub-daily timing matters: how temperatures evolve through the day, when a storm intensified, how quickly pressure changed, or how conditions differ between stations under the same broader weather system.

When interpreting the explorer, keep these points in mind:

  • Hourly Data Captures Timing: The key strength of GHCNh is temporal detail. Use it when daily averages would hide the sequence, duration, or intensity of an event.
  • Coverage Differs by Station: Some stations have long, dense records, while others have shorter or less complete histories. Always interpret comparisons in light of record length and data availability.
  • Local Setting Still Matters: Airport stations, coastal sites, mountain valleys, and urban locations can show very different hourly behavior even within the same region or country.
  • Hourly Is Not the Same as Real-Time: GHCNh is a historical and continuously updated archive, but it is not intended as a live operational feed in the same way as a near-real-time monitoring product.
  • Use Multiple Variables Together: Temperature, precipitation, wind, and pressure often make the most sense when read together, especially during fast-changing events.

What This Explorer Is Best For

The GHCNh Explorer is strongest for sub-daily station timing and cross-border discovery. It is less suitable for near-real-time European monitoring or century-scale monthly trends, where the EuroMeteo real-time station explorer and GHCNm monthly trend explorer are better fits. National explorers such as DWD, Météo-France, JMA and IMGW provide more specialized country workflows.

Data Window Note

To ensure performance with high-resolution hourly data, the analysis window is limited to 366 days. The date slider supports smart sliding to easily move this window through time.

Need a reproducible workflow? Read the GHCNh hourly analysis and export guide. For an evidence-led application, see the Dubuque nighttime-heat analysis.

Data source

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the GHCNh dataset?

GHCNh stands for Global Historical Climatology Network hourly. NOAA/NCEI integrates hourly and synoptic observations from numerous contributing meteorological sources into harmonized files for fixed land stations worldwide.

What can hourly observations show?

Hourly observations can show when conditions changed, how long a threshold persisted, and whether a daily summary hides an evening or overnight sequence. Reporting intervals and completeness still need to be checked station by station.

Why might a country, station or parameter be missing?

GHCNh has worldwide coverage, but its inventory reflects contributed source records. Station availability, variables, reporting intervals and historical depth differ by country, station and period.

Does GHCNh include weather observations for the United States and Canada?

Yes. Choose United States or Canada in the country filter to find NOAA/NCEI hourly and synoptic station records for either country. Record length, available variables, reporting intervals, and quality flags differ by station and period.

How far back does the hourly data go?

The historical depth varies significantly by station. Some major international airports have hourly records extending back several decades, while newer remote stations might only have a few years of data. Use the date slider to explore a station’s available history.

How do I download global hourly weather data?

Select a country, station and date interval, open Dashboard → Data, and choose Export Hourly Excel. Use NOAA’s PSV or Parquet access when you need source-format or bulk files.

Does Climate Explorer produce the GHCNh observations?

No. Climate Explorer is an independent interface and is not affiliated with NOAA. NOAA/NCEI maintains, curates, quality-controls, and publishes the GHCNh archive using observations from contributing meteorological networks; Climate Explorer retrieves, parses, and presents those records.