IMGW-PIB Polish Meteorological Data Guide: Stations & Excel Export

Search Polish weather stations, understand IMGW-PIB observation frequencies, and export cleaned meteorological observations to Excel workbooks for analysis.

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Open the IMGW-PIB Explorer

IMGW-PIB Explorer map showing weather stations across Poland

Quick start

1. Open the explorer and choose Hourly, Daily, or Monthly.
2. Set a date range, then find a station on the map or in Stations Info.
3. Double-click a station-table row or select a map point and wait for the dashboard to load.
4. Confirm the station name and actual loaded period before reading the plots.
5. Inspect Data, then select Export Excel to download the loaded table as .xlsx.

What this guide helps you do

The IMGW-PIB Explorer is an independent interface for selected public meteorological files from Poland’s Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute. It supports manageable station-level searches while the official IMGW-PIB archive remains the authoritative source.

Climate Explorer downloads relevant ZIP archives, reads their CSV contents, joins files for the selected period, translates many source codes into English labels, builds plots and produces the workbook export. It does not replace IMGW-PIB field definitions, status codes, corrections or reuse conditions.

1. Choose the resolution and date window

The resolution determines both the source folders and the maximum interval accepted by the interface.

IMGW Explorer resolution and request-window limits

Explorer mode	Source interval	Maximum accepted window	Best use
Hourly	Provider terminowe records	93 days (about 3 months)	Within-day weather evolution and event timing
Daily	Provider dobowe records	366 days (about 1 year)	Events, seasons and daily extremes
Monthly	Provider miesieczne records	2,191 days (about 6 years)	Multi-year and seasonal station context

Daily mode initially opens with roughly one year ending on the current date. Selecting Monthly resets the range to approximately six years. If a requested window exceeds the applicable limit, the app adjusts one boundary and shows a warning.

The date range also filters the station catalogue. A station must overlap the selected period in the explorer metadata, so the displayed count can change before observations are loaded.

Resolution is not publication frequency

An hourly row describes the source time step; it does not mean the archive is republished every hour. IMGW-PIB documents monthly file publication schedules: synoptic records around the fifth working day after month-end, and climatological or observer-operated precipitation records on a longer schedule.

2. Find a station on the map

Use Find Station to search the filtered catalogue, or select a marker. The Home control returns to the extent of all currently eligible stations. The map in this guide shows the Daily network across Poland with Białystok selected.

Map controls also provide zoom and basemap choices. Use the Maximize control in the explorer header when station clusters, plots or tables need more room; press Esc to exit full-screen mode.

3. Check station metadata before loading

Open Stations Info to compare identifiers and availability before choosing a series.

IMGW-PIB Stations Info table with populated station metadata

The visible columns include:

• IMGW station ID and station name;
• WMO identifier as represented in the explorer metadata;
• Synoptic or Climatological type;
• represented parameter groups;
• latitude, longitude and elevation; and
• metadata start and end dates.

Double-click a row on desktop to fetch observations and open the dashboard. Treat the type and parameter labels as catalogue classifications, not proof of present staffing, instruments or complete reporting throughout the metadata period.

4. Confirm the loaded station and period

The dashboard header must show the selected station, IMGW and WMO identifiers, coordinates, elevation, station type, resolution, row count, and the actual dates found in the parsed files.

Loaded IMGW-PIB daily plots for Białystok

In the captured example, Białystok station 295 (WMO metadata identifier 353230295) returned 339 Daily rows from 27 August 2025 through 31 July 2026, even though the requested end date was 28 August 2026. Always record the Data Selection period rather than assuming that a requested end date is an available observation.

Summary cards describe only the loaded selection. They are not climate normals, and their averages, extremes, totals and latest values change with the station, resolution and dates.

5. Read plots as point observations

The Plots tab builds panels only when the loaded table contains usable values. Depending on the source family, these can include temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, sunshine, pressure, solar radiation and snow.

The plots describe one observing site. Elevation, exposure, land cover, station moves and the available period affect interpretation. Do not infer a national trend or voivodeship-wide event from one station without corroboration.

Visual zoom changes only the chart view. It does not change the workbook. To export a different period, update the date range and wait for the station data to reload.

6. Inspect fields and status codes

Open Data before exporting. This verifies that rows finished loading and shows which measurements are populated.

Populated IMGW-PIB daily data table for Białystok

The table translates source abbreviations to labels such as Max Temp [°C], Mean Daily Temp [°C], Daily Precip [mm], Sunshine [h] and Snow Depth [cm]. It can be horizontally wide because IMGW synoptic products contain many weather, ground and duration fields.

Hourly fields

The hourly workbook can combine synoptic and climatological source families. These are the principal translated labels; a station may contain only a subset.

Principal hourly IMGW fields translated by Climate Explorer

Explorer label	IMGW source code(s)	Unit or representation	Interpretation
Temp [°C], Wet Bulb Temp [°C], Dew Point [°C]	temp, ttzw, tptr	°C	Air, wet-bulb and dew-point temperatures at the reported hour
Relative Humidity [%], Vapour Pressure [hPa], Humidity Deficit [hPa]	wlgw, cpw, defi	%, hPa	Different moisture measures; they are not interchangeable
Wind Speed [m/s], Wind Direction [°], Wind Gust [m/s]	fwr, krwr, porw	m/s, degrees	Reported wind and gust fields; direction describes where the wind comes from
Station Pressure [hPa], Sea Level Pressure [hPa]	ppps, pppm	hPa	Pressure at station elevation versus pressure reduced to sea level
Pressure Tendency, Pressure Change [hPa]	tech, app	code, hPa	Tendency is coded; change is the reported pressure difference
Precip 6h [mm], Precip Type 6h	wo6g, ropt	mm, code	Six-hour accumulation and its precipitation-type code, not an hourly amount
Operator Visibility [m], Auto Visibility [m]	wido, wida	m	Manual/operator and automatic visibility can be separate fields
Cloud cover, base and type fields	nog, clcm, hpod, hpon, hpow, chcl, chcm, chch	okta, m or code	Cloud amount, base and genus fields use different representations
Sunshine [h]	usln	h	Sunshine duration reported for the observation period
Soil temperatures at 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 cm	tg05 … tg100	°C	Depth-specific soil-temperature observations
Snow depth, fresh snow and water-equivalent fields	pksn, hss, rwsn, cipr	cm or mm	Physical depth and water-equivalent quantities are different measures
Current and past weather	pogb, pogu	code	Use the official format/code documentation for the reported phenomenon

Daily fields

Principal daily IMGW fields translated by Climate Explorer

Explorer label	IMGW source code(s)	Unit or representation	Interpretation
Max Temp [°C], Min Temp [°C], Mean Daily Temp [°C]	tmax, tmin, std	°C	Provider-supplied daily temperature statistics
Min Ground Temp [°C]	tmng	°C	Ground-level minimum, not sheltered air minimum
Daily Precip [mm], Precip Type	smdb, roop	mm, code	Daily amount and the source precipitation-type classification
Sunshine [h]	usl	h	Daily sunshine duration
Snow Depth [cm], Snow Water Equiv [mm], Fresh Snow Depth [cm]	pksn, rwsn, hss	cm or mm	Snow depth, water equivalent and fresh snowfall are separate quantities
Rain, snow, mixed precipitation and hail durations	desz, sneg, disn, grad	h	Duration of the named phenomenon during the provider day
Fog, mist, rime, glaze, blizzard and haze durations	mgla, zmgl, sadz, golo, zmni, zmws, zmet	h	Duration fields; a blank value is not proof that the phenomenon lasted zero hours
Strong-wind, thunder, dew and frost durations	ff10, ff15, brza, rosa, szro	h	Duration at the documented threshold or of the named phenomenon
Snow Cover [0/1], Lightning [0/1]	dzps, dzbl	indicator	Presence indicators rather than measured amounts
Lower Isotherm [cm], Upper Isotherm [cm], Actinometry [J/cm²]	izd, izg, aktn	cm, J/cm²	Specialized ground/freezing-depth and radiation fields

Monthly fields

Principal monthly IMGW fields translated by Climate Explorer

Explorer label	IMGW source code(s)	Unit or representation	Interpretation
Max Temp [°C], Min Temp [°C]	tmax, tmin	°C	Absolute monthly maximum and minimum
Mean Max Temp [°C], Mean Min Temp [°C], Mean Monthly Temp [°C]	tmxs, tmns, stm	°C	Monthly mean of daily maxima, mean of daily minima and overall mean
Min Ground Temp [°C]	tmng	°C	Lowest reported ground temperature for the month
Monthly Precip [mm], Max Daily Precip [mm]	summ, opmx	mm	Monthly total and largest daily amount; dn1/dn2 identify its first/last date
Day Precip [mm], Night Precip [mm]	wodz, wono	mm	Day/night components where supplied in the supplementary monthly table
Monthly Sunshine [h]	suus	h	Monthly sunshine-duration total
Snow Depth [cm], Snow Cover Days	pksn, psdn	cm, days	Depth and number of snow-cover days are distinct fields
Mean temperature, humidity, wind, cloud and pressure fields	temp, wlgs, fws, nos, ppps, pppm	°C, %, m/s, okta, hPa	Supplementary monthly means when that source table is available
Precipitation, snow, hail, fog, rime, glaze, blizzard, haze, thunder, dew and frost days	desd, snid, dsnd, grdd, mgld, sadd, gold, zand, zawd, zmed, burd, rosd, szrd	days	Counts of days meeting the source definition, not duration in hours
Wind-threshold days	w10d, w15d	days	Counts at the documented 10 m/s and 15 m/s thresholds

The workbook can contain additional structural, coded or source-family-specific columns. Each measurement may also have a translated Status: … companion derived from the corresponding IMGW status field. Preserve those columns when auditing missing or coded values.

Status fields are not generic quality grades

IMGW files pair many measurements with a status column. The official archive description defines:

• blank status: the associated measurement value;
• 8: no measurement; and
• 9: no phenomenon.

Climate Explorer shows no observations for status 8. When status 9 accompanies an empty phenomenon field, the interface can display zero. Do not convert status 8 or a blank data cell to zero.

Some fields also use documented special codes. For synoptic snow depth, 997 means less than 0.5 cm, 998 means discontinuous or patchy cover, and 999 means the depth could not be measured. Wind direction 999 means variable wind. Consult the resolution-specific *_format.txt files before using coded columns quantitatively.

7. Export the complete workbook

Select Export Excel after the dashboard finishes loading. The .xlsx file contains the complete parsed table for the active station, resolution and loaded period—not only the visible page and not only the chart’s current zoom.

The workbook preserves translated measurement and status columns. Record at least:

• station name, IMGW ID and WMO metadata identifier;
• resolution;
• requested dates and actual loaded dates;
• download date; and
• the official source folder and format description.

8. Download official ZIP and CSV files

For bulk, automated or source-faithful work, use the official meteorological archive. Its main folders are:

• terminowe — hourly/term observations;
• dobowe — daily observations; and
• miesieczne — monthly observations.

Each is divided by synop, klimat, and where applicable opad, then by years or five-year periods. The downloadable ZIP archives contain comma-delimited CSV data. Format descriptions and header files in each product directory define column order, units and status fields.

Reproduce the Białystok example

1. Record Białystok station ID 295 and the Daily resolution.
2. Open dobowe/synop.
3. Select the year folders overlapping 27 August 2025 through 31 July 2026.
4. Download the applicable ZIP files and read the accompanying s_d_format.txt description.
5. Filter the decompressed CSV rows to the station identifier and requested dates.

Use the source archive when you need the original abbreviations, every status column, file-level provenance or a workflow independent of Climate Explorer.

9. Time labels, corrections and reuse

• Hourly clock basis: The cited format documents define separate year, month, day and hour fields but do not state a universal time zone. Climate Explorer constructs a UTC-tagged machine timestamp for plotting and spreadsheets; that implementation detail must not be treated as proof that the source observation hour is UTC. Verify the intended clock basis before joining another dataset.
• Daily and monthly labels: Daily rows are placed at 00:00 for display, and monthly rows use the first day of the month. These are indexing labels, not measurement times.
• Corrections: IMGW-PIB states that archive data are verified but corrections can still be introduced, especially for the current year; replacement files are recorded in lista_zmian.txt.
• Attribution: The provider terms require the source statement “Źródłem pochodzenia danych jest Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy”.
• Processing notice: When data are transformed, the terms also require “Dane Instytutu Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej – Państwowego Instytutu Badawczego zostały przetworzone”.

Review the current IMGW-PIB public-data terms for the intended reuse. Climate Explorer’s export does not grant rights beyond those terms.

10. Troubleshooting

No station appears

Widen or move the date range, clear the station search, or try another resolution. Station eligibility is derived from metadata overlap.

The dashboard remains empty

Select the station again and wait for the loading overlay to finish. The app may need to locate, download and combine several provider ZIP files.

The requested end date has no rows

Use the dashboard’s actual Data Selection range. The newest published archive file can lag behind today’s date according to the provider schedule.

A field says no observations

This represents missing measurement status, not a numeric zero. Exclude or explicitly handle it in calculations.

The export is not CSV

The dashboard creates an Excel .xlsx workbook. Use the official ZIP archive for source CSV files.

A monthly date looks daily

Read the first day at 00:00 as a month label created by the interface.

Related pages with different purposes

• Explore Polish stations interactively — broad discovery and station comparison.
• Understand Europe’s open weather-data portals — evidence-led policy and access context.
• Compare Europe-wide hourly observations — cross-border near-real-time context.

Official sources

• IMGW-PIB public meteorological archive
• Official archive description (Opis.txt)
• IMGW-PIB API documentation
• IMGW-PIB public-data terms