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Weather Data for IFSM
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Historical Weather Data 

Historical weather data files come with the IFSM download for many locations throughout the United States and a few other countries. Additional weather files, formatted for IFSM, can be created for any location in the United States using the Weather Timeseries Tool available through the Jornada Experimental Range of New Mexico State University. The tool, available here, uses gridMET data from the Climatology Lab of the University of Idaho. A file is created by selecting an "Area of interest" on the map. Under settings, a format for IFSM should be selected, the start and end dates should be set (starting on January 1 and ending on December 31 for any number of years from 1979 to the last full year) and leap days should be ignored. A file can then be downloaded and stored in your folder with other weather files that come with the model. The file name can be changed, and it must end in .wth for IFSM to find and use the file.

Projected Weather Data

Downscaled weather files (1950 to 2100) are available for 78 locations across the United States formatted for use in IFSM. Each location includes 18 files created using 9 General Circulation Models (GCM) and 2 projected emission scenarios. Emission scenarios include Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 where RCP 4.5 represents a somewhat optimistic outlook for reducing carbon emissions and 8.5 represents continuing the current trend for emissions. To download long term weather data, click a site on the map below for info and a direct download link, or visit the download directory to download .zip files for available sites.

 

When the downloaded file is expanded, you will obtain 18 individual weather files for that location. The name of the file includes an abbreviation for the GCM and RCP used to create that file. Names and abbreviations for the 9 GCMs are as follows:

General Circulation Model

Abbreviation

Community Climate System Model 4

CCSM4

Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques Circulation Model 5

CNRM-CM5

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Mark 3

CISRO-Mk3

Hadley Centre Global Environment Model 2 CC

HadGEM2-CC

Institute for Numerical Mathematics Climate Model 4

Inmcm4

Institut Pierre Simon Laplace Coupled Model 5A LR

IPSL-CM5A

Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate 5

MIROC5

Max-Planck Institute Earth System Model LR

MPI-ESM-LR

Meteorological Research Institute Coupled Global Climate Model 3

MRI-CGCM3

 

Each file contains 150 years of daily weather data in a text format to be read and used by IFSM. For use in IFSM, the files must be placed in the same folder along with other input parameter files used by the model. The desired weather file can then be selected within IFSM where any period of up to 26 years within the 150 years can be simulated. This provides weather patterns for simulating farms from recent history through the end of the century.

The downscaled projected weather data were developed and provided by Anne Stoner and Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University.