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Friday, May. 23, 2025

Does the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fabricate data for decommissioned weather-monitoring stations?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
no

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does not fabricate temperature data for decommissioned U.S. Historical Climatology Network stations. 

USHCN stations, part of the National Weather Service’s Cooperative Observer Program, are primarily managed by volunteers who record daily weather data across the country. Some stations have records dating back to the 1800s. 

When a station goes offline or cannot report consistently, NOAA uses data from nearby stations to estimate monthly temperatures. These estimates, clearly labeled as such in public datasets, help preserve the continuity of long-term climate records. They are available for researchers, historians and others who rely on historical temperature data, but are not used in NOAA’s official climate monitoring.

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