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Full catalog/NLDAS_FORA0125_MC
NLDAS_FORA0125_MC·v2.0·dataset

Monthly average weather inputs for land models (US, 0.125 deg)

NLDAS Primary Forcing Data L4 Monthly Climatology 0.125 x 0.125 degree V2.0 (NLDAS_FORA0125_MC) at GES DISC
atmosphere NASA GES_DISC Level 4
In plain English

What it measures. Month-by-month average weather conditions over the United States, on a fine grid (about every 1/8th of a degree), serving as the standard weather inputs that land-surface models need.

How it's made. These are the long-term monthly averages (1981-2020) of the North American Land Data Assimilation System's primary weather data, packaged in netCDF format.

How & where you'd use it. A reference baseline and input for land and hydrology models, and for comparing a given month against typical conditions.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE › SURFACE PRESSUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › LONGWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC RADIATION › SHORTWAVE RADIATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE › SURFACE TEMPERATUREATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR PROCESSES › EVAPORATIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR › WATER VAPOR INDICATORS › HUMIDITYATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WINDS › WIND DYNAMICS › CONVECTIONATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC WINDS › SURFACE WINDSATMOSPHERE › PRECIPITATION › LIQUID PRECIPITATION › RAINLAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span1981-01-01 → 2020-12-31
  • Measured byForcing-LSM (NOT APPLICABLE)
  • Processing levelLevel 4
  • Spatial extent-125, 25, -67, 53
  • StatusCOMPLETE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

This data set contains the monthly climatology data of the primary forcing data for Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2). The data are in 1/8th degree grid spacing. The temporal resolution is monthly, ranging from January to December. The NLDAS-2 monthly climatology data are the NLDAS-2 monthly data averaged over forty years (1981 - 2020). The file format is netCDF. The previous version of this dataset (NLDAS_MC 002) was a 30-year average and was stored in GRIB file format. A brief description about the NLDAS-2 hourly and monthly primary forcing data can be found from the NLDAS_FORA0125_H_2.0 and NLDAS_FORA0125_M_2.0 landing pages. Details about the generation of the NLDAS-2 forcing datasets can be found in Xia et al. (2012). For more information, please see the README Document.

Get the data

nldas_fora0125_mc_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="NLDAS_FORA0125_MC",
    version="2.0",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GES_DISC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.