FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How is this information gathered?

Very detailed weather records are kept for most major U.S. towns and cities by the National Climatic Data Center. Record highs, high minimum temperatures, lows, low maximum temperatures, precipitation and snowfall records are kept for each day. Some reporting stations possess daily weather records dating back to the 1980s, while most major cities have data going back to the late 1800s. When a weather record is tied or broken, the U.S. National Weather Service issues a public information statement detailing this information. In order to figure out just how many records were broken, the data from the National Climatic Data Center was put into a database and categorized as the type of record tied or broken.

How accurate is this information?

Every effort has been made to ensure the data's accuracy. It's possible that a few records have been duplicated, categorized incorrectly or were not received.

Why does it take so long for the information to be displayed?

Depending on the range of dates, it can take up to several minutes to display the information due to the high number of records in the database.

Why is all the record data not displayed?

To prevent malfunctions and to conserve time, the program will only display up to 1,000 records on the U.S. map. 

Why are other countries not included?

Detailed weather records from other parts of the world either do not exist or are very expensive to obtain. It's our goal to eventually obtain this information and include it in our web site.

Are other countries breaking records like in the U.S?

According to the World Meteorological Organization, weather records are being broken on a daily basis. Detailed information is currently unavailable.

Why are some towns not included that we know have broken records?

All information is obtained from the National Climatic Data Center. Many smaller towns do not have historical records. Most information comes from major cities, automatic weather reporting stations, airports and towns with larger populations.

Why do records only go back to January 1, 2008?

It is our intention to display records prior to January 1, 2008. The web site is a continuous work in progress. Just keeping up with the current information is a job in itself.

Were more records broken prior to January 1, 2008?

It's very possible that more total records fell prior to January 1, 2008. As times moves on, it becomes more difficult to break records.