analysis of historical weather data
TRANSCRIPT
BY:ALEX BALISTRIERI
ED STEIMEL
ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL WEATHER DATA FOR JANUARY (1949 – 2015)
About the Data
Source: www.weather-warehouse.com
Timeframe: January 1949-2015
U.S. Cities: Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; Fargo, ND; Green Bay, WI; Boston, MA; and Atlanta, GA.
Number of Records: 4,000 (approx.)
Definition of Fields City – the city in which the data was recorded.
State – the state in which city is located. Used for geocoding in Tableau.
Year – the calendar year for which the data was recorded.
High Temperature – the highest temperature recorded for the month.
Low Temperature – the lowest temperature recorded for the month.
Warmest Minimum Temperature - the highest daily low temperature for the month. For example, “warmest night”, sometimes referred to as “high low”
Coldest Maximum Temperature - the lowest daily high temperature for the month. For example, “coldest day”, sometimes referred to as “low high”.
Average Minimum Temperature - average (arithmetic mean) of all the daily low temperatures for the month.
Average Maximum Temperature - average (arithmetic mean) of all the daily high temperatures for the month.
Mean Temperature - average of all the daily mean temperatures ([min + max]/2).
Total Precipitation - the sum of all the daily precipitation observations for the month.
Total Snowfall - the sum of all the daily snowfall observations for the month.
Max 24hr Precipitation - the greatest precipitation observation recorded for a single 24-hour period.
Max 24hr Snowfall - the greatest snowfall observation recorded for a single 24-hour period.
Selection Parameters/Download Process
Chose seven U.S. cities at random based on large and/or Int’l Airport weather station data representing West, Midwest, and Eastern regions
January 1949-2015, but focused on 1950-1955
Downloaded dataset straight from web
Minor data manipulation; organizing data to upload into Tableau
Excel Data
AVG Total Snowfall for January by City
From 1949-2015, East Coast generally received greater snowfall compared to the West Coast.
AVG Total Snowfall for January 1950-1955
In 1950, Seattle and Portland received greater amounts of snowfall compared to the East Coast.
MAX 24hr Snowfall for January by City from 1950-1955
Overall, Seattle had the greatest 24 hour snowfall period during 1950-1955.
Highest Temp for Jan. 1950
In 1950, the highest temperature for SEA and PDX was 48 degrees. Boston’s highest temperature was 72 degrees.
Weather Data Infographic
Thank you!