drug-discovery-prompts/upstream/K-Dense-AI-scientific-agent-skills/skills/database-lookup/references/noaa.md

title, task, lineage_type, upstream_source, upstream_sha, imported_at, prompt_class, upstream_changes, author, validated

title	task	lineage_type	upstream_source	upstream_sha	imported_at	prompt_class	upstream_changes	author	validated
NOAA Climate Data Online (CDO) API Reference		import	https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills/blob/9c9bd2e9/skills/database-lookup/references/noaa.md	9c9bd2e9	2026-06-26	prompt	accepted	upstream	false

NOAA Climate Data Online (CDO) API Reference

Base URL

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2

Authentication

• API Token: REQUIRED. Request a free token at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/token
• Pass as HTTP header: Token: YOUR_TOKEN

Rate Limits

• 5 requests per second per token.
• 10,000 requests per day per token.
• Queries are limited to 1,000 results per request (use offset for pagination).
• Date ranges limited to 1 year per request for the /data endpoint.

Common Parameters (apply to most endpoints)

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
datasetid	string	Varies	-	Dataset ID (e.g. GHCND, GSOM).
datatypeid	string	No	-	Data type filter (e.g. TMAX, PRCP).
locationid	string	No	-	Location ID (e.g. FIPS:37, ZIP:28801, CITY:US390029).
stationid	string	No	-	Station ID (e.g. GHCND:USW00013874).
startdate	string	Varies	-	ISO date YYYY-MM-DD.
enddate	string	Varies	-	ISO date YYYY-MM-DD.
units	string	No	standard	standard or metric.
limit	int	No	25	Results per page (max 1000).
offset	int	No	1	Pagination offset (1-based).
sortfield	string	No	-	Field to sort by (e.g. date, name).
sortorder	string	No	asc	asc or desc.

---

Key Endpoints

1. Data (Observations)

GET /data

Returns actual observation data. This is the primary data retrieval endpoint.

Required parameters: datasetid, startdate, enddate.

Example -- daily max temperature for a station:

curl -H "Token: YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2/data?datasetid=GHCND&datatypeid=TMAX&stationid=GHCND:USW00013874&startdate=2024-01-01&enddate=2024-01-31&units=metric&limit=31"

Response:

{
  "metadata": {
    "resultset": {
      "offset": 1,
      "count": 31,
      "limit": 31
    }
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "date": "2024-01-01T00:00:00",
      "datatype": "TMAX",
      "station": "GHCND:USW00013874",
      "attributes": ",,W,2400",
      "value": 12.2
    },
    {
      "date": "2024-01-02T00:00:00",
      "datatype": "TMAX",
      "station": "GHCND:USW00013874",
      "attributes": ",,W,2400",
      "value": 8.9
    }
  ]
}

Note: When units=standard, GHCND temperature values are in tenths of degrees C. With units=metric, they are converted to degrees C.

2. Datasets

GET /datasets
GET /datasets/{id}

Lists available datasets or gets details for one.

Example:

curl -H "Token: YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2/datasets?limit=10"

Key Dataset IDs:

ID	Name	Description
GHCND	Daily Summaries	Global daily station observations (TMAX, TMIN, PRCP, SNOW, etc.)
GSOM	Global Summary of the Month	Monthly aggregates
GSOY	Global Summary of the Year	Annual aggregates
NORMAL_DLY	Climate Normals Daily	30-year daily normals
NORMAL_MLY	Climate Normals Monthly	30-year monthly normals
PRECIP_15	Precipitation 15-Minute	Sub-hourly precipitation
PRECIP_HLY	Precipitation Hourly	Hourly precipitation

3. Data Types

GET /datatypes
GET /datatypes/{id}

Lists available data types, optionally filtered by dataset.

Example:

curl -H "Token: YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2/datatypes?datasetid=GHCND&limit=50"

Common GHCND Data Types:

ID	Description
TMAX	Maximum temperature
TMIN	Minimum temperature
TAVG	Average temperature
PRCP	Precipitation
SNOW	Snowfall
SNWD	Snow depth
AWND	Average wind speed
WSF2	Fastest 2-minute wind speed

4. Stations

GET /stations
GET /stations/{id}

Find weather stations, optionally filtered by location, dataset, or extent.

Additional Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
extent	string	Bounding box: south_lat,west_lon,north_lat,east_lon.

Example -- stations near Asheville, NC with daily data:

curl -H "Token: YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2/stations?datasetid=GHCND&locationid=ZIP:28801&limit=10"

Response:

{
  "metadata": {"resultset": {"offset": 1, "count": 5, "limit": 10}},
  "results": [
    {
      "elevation": 661.1,
      "mindate": "1893-01-01",
      "maxdate": "2024-11-15",
      "latitude": 35.5951,
      "name": "ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT, NC US",
      "datacoverage": 1,
      "id": "GHCND:USW00013874",
      "elevationUnit": "METERS",
      "longitude": -82.5572
    }
  ]
}

5. Locations & Location Categories

GET /locations
GET /locations/{id}
GET /locationcategories
GET /locationcategories/{id}

Browse location hierarchies (countries, states, cities, zip codes, climate regions).

Example:

curl -H "Token: YOUR_TOKEN" \
  "https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/api/v2/locations?locationcategoryid=ST&limit=52"

Location category IDs: CITY, CLIM_DIV, CLIM_REG, CNTRY, CNTY, HYD_ACC, HYD_CAT, HYD_REG, HYD_SUB, ST, ZIP.

---

Workflow: Finding and Querying Data

1. Find a dataset: GET /datasets to list available datasets.
2. Find a station: GET /stations?datasetid=GHCND&locationid=ZIP:28801 to find nearby stations.
3. Check available data types: GET /datatypes?datasetid=GHCND&stationid=GHCND:USW00013874.
4. Query data: GET /data?datasetid=GHCND&stationid=GHCND:USW00013874&datatypeid=TMAX,TMIN&startdate=2024-01-01&enddate=2024-12-31&units=metric&limit=1000.

Notes

• The /data endpoint enforces a 1-year max date range per request. For multi-year queries, make sequential requests.
• Pagination: offset is 1-based. Loop until offset + limit > count from the metadata.
• Station IDs include a dataset prefix (e.g. GHCND:USW00013874).
• The attributes field in data results contains quality flags (comma-separated). Consult dataset documentation for flag meanings.
• Token goes in the header, not as a query parameter.