Welcome to the State Climate Services for Idaho

We are here to help you obtain and make effective use of weather and water data for Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.

For more information about our services and products, check out the topics below.

  • About State Climate Services for Idaho

  • How to Obtain Weather and Water Data

  • Data for Downloading

  • Reports, design documents, and maps


  • Daily data for all the stations in Idaho. This includes some data not available from NCDC


  • Moscow Turf Irrigation Scheduling Project Ever wonder how long you should water your lawn?

  • Links to information on current weather

  • Other Sources of Weather, Water and Related Information

    Driving around the state and region? Look at the road reports from the Idaho Department of Transportation and the surrounding states

    El Nino and La Nina in the Western US and in the Pacific Northwest

    University of Idaho

    Biological and Agricultural Engineering


    Comments and questions should be addressed to Climate@uidaho.edu

    State Climate Services
    Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department
    University of Idaho
    Moscow, ID 83844-0904

    Telephone 208-885-7004
    fax 208-885-7908


    About State Climate Services

     

    Climatic information is essential to every citizen of Idaho. To help people obtain the climatic and water data and information necessary to planning and every day work, the State Climatologist Program strives to "...acquire, archive, process and disseminate, in the most cost effect manner possible, all climate and weather information which is or could be of value to policy and decision makers in the state" and to provide climatic services which are important to the people of Idaho.

    The functions of the State Climatologist and State ClimateServices are to:

    • act as liaison between Idaho weather information users and the National Climatic Data Center
    • maintain a data bank of climatological and hydrological data and information
    • supply data in a form useful to users
    • refer requests for complex analyses to the appropriate person, agency or consulting firm
    • maintain contact with users of climatic and hydrological data in order to acertain their needs for data and analyses
    • maintain a bibliography of publication pertinant to Idaho and Pacific Northwest climate

    In May, 1978, an agreement was concluded among the National Climatic Data Center, the National Weather Service and the University of Idaho to provide climate services which had been provided by aformer National Weather Service program.

    The State Climate Services program is housed in the Agricultural Engineering Department and is headed by the State Climatologist for Idaho. It is supported by the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and the Idaho Cooperative Extension System in cooperation with the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute.

    We have additional cooperation from

    The National Climatic Data Center

    The Western Regional Climate Center, DRI

    The National Weather Service

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    How to obtain weather and water data

    To obtain data, you need to define your problem and then contact the State Climate Services Office as shown below.

    If you know exactly what you want, please include the following:

    • Type of data required (ex: precipitation, temperature, streamflow)
    • The time increment (ex: daily,monthly)
    • The location (ex: Stanley, Custer County, 30 miles west of Cascade)
    • What the data will be used for (ex: insurance claim, pesticide application)
    • The date(s) the data need to cover (ex: July 4, 1938;April 1991; 3 pm, Aug 16, 1978)
    • Full contact information (ex: Joe Vandal. Moscow, ID. PHONE, FAX, EMAIL)

    Many requests can be answered by looking at the various links and data files available on this HomePage. More data are continually being added by many agencies so it pays to look through the various HomePages to see what is offered

    If you do not know what you need to solve your problem, describe the situation as best you can and we will attempt to determine what you will need. Often, it will take a phone call to get the correct data. The more detailed the description, the better the chance that we will get it right the first time.

    While the majority of requests are handled for free, if there is a considerable amount of labor or computer time involved, a charge will be assesed. You will be fully informed of any charges.

    Once you have defined your needs, you may obtain data and information from State Climate Services by:

    • Calling the Climate Lab at 208-885-7004
    • send e-mail to climate@uidaho.edu.
    • Send a fax to 208-885-7908

    If you prefer, send a letter to

    State Climate Services
    Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department
    University of Idaho
    Moscow, ID 83844-0904

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    counts since March 5, 2000