Millions of digitized historical sea‐level pressure observations rediscovered

Abstract

Abstract Millions of sub‐daily sea‐level pressure observations taken between 1919 and 1960 over the British and Irish Isles were transcribed from paper records in the early 2000s but were not published and subsequently forgotten. A chance discussion led to the rediscovery of the transcribed data and 5.47 million observations from 160 locations are now made available, although the data have not been fully quality‐controlled. Much of the data are 3‐hourly, allowing for detailed examinations of synoptic weather variations for this region and time period, and will be invaluable for constraining future reanalyses. We illustrate the value of the data using a stormy period during October and November 1928 and discuss the remaining quality‐control issues.

Keywords

• data rescue
• pressure
• Ireland
• UK