Differences in Location Information from various Data Sources

This website gathers data from a number of different data sources for the locations of the METAR stations. Not suprisingly, there are a number of differences in the data, but what is suprising (to me at least) is the scale of the problem. This page does not attempt to analyze elevation errors. However, the links to the pjsg_*_location.txt files below do have the best estimate of elevation for each location. It is important to note that the positions and elevations in these files are taken from one or other source. There is no averaging of data.

The logic on this website imports data from the following sources:
NameLocationEntries Differences > 3 miles Differences > 1 mile
AFAF49HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AFDAFD286HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AIRNowAIRNow855HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AQAQ31HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AQWAQWisc28HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ASOSASOS943HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ASOS2ASOS2982HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AWOSAWOS1119HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
BoMAustralia BOM971HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
BRBR149HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
CACA2181HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
CHSwissMetNet143HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
COCO69HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
CWOPCWOP14783HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
DafifDAFIF ARPT10054HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
DEDE249HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FAAFAA Airport Database5369HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FlickrFlickr592HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FMIFMI10966HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
GHCNGHCN7964HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
GLOBEGLOBE1680HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
GRGR69HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
HADSHADS18263HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
HADSHADS8503HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
IDID120HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ININ58HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ISHISH28599HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
JAJA154HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MesoWestMesoWest22096HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MetarMETARTable10727HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MLIDMaster Location Identifier DB35587HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MSIMSI2740HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MWMesowest5995HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MXMX78HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NASRNASR806HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NCEPNCEP7864HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NDBCNDBC41HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NEPPNEPP187HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NexradNexrad209HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NONO276HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NonFedAWOSNonFedAWOS253HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NPNP31HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NRCSNRCS848HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NSDNSD6698HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
OAptsOurAirports39281HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
OMOM26HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
OverrideOverride57HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
PCPC114HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
PersonalPersonal Comms222HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
RAOBRAOB1411HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
RUMeteoRU520HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
RusARusAir448HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
TRTR258HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
UDDFUDDF329HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
UpdateUpdate2715HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
VEVE33HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
VedurIceland30HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
WCWC56HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File

The best estimate as to the locations of all sites above can be found in the fixed format file pjsg_all_location.txt, pjsg_all_location.xml and pjsg_all_location.csv.

The table above includes all the records imported from the various sources. However, data is only available for a subset of these stations (both METAR reports and Synoptic reports), and the table below is filtered by that criteria. This also reduces (dramatically) the number of stations in error.

NameLocationEntries Differences > 3 miles Differences > 1 mile
AFDAFD81HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ASOSASOS866HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ASOS2ASOS2878HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
AWOSAWOS916HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
BRBR1HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
CACA763HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
COCO2HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
CWOPCWOP12034HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
DafifDAFIF ARPT2516HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FAAFAA Airport Database2268HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FlickrFlickr262HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
FMIFMI2437HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
GLOBEGLOBE7HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
HADSHADS5778HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
HADSHADS5329HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
ISHISH4482HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MesoWestMesoWest8309HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MetarMETARTable2868HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MLIDMaster Location Identifier DB3230HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MSIMSI2263HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
MWMesowest3229HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NASRNASR637HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NCEPNCEP3150HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NDBCNDBC14HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NEPPNEPP36HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NexradNexrad47HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NonFedAWOSNonFedAWOS161HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NRCSNRCS556HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
NSDNSD2412HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
OAptsOurAirports2780HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
OverrideOverride7HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
PersonalPersonal Comms70HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
RAOBRAOB71HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
RusARusAir1HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
UDDFUDDF296HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
UpdateUpdate1009HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File
WCWC1HTML FileCSV FileHTML FileCSV File

The best estimate as to the locations of all the active sites above can be found in the fixed format file pjsg_active_location.txt, pjsg_active_location.xml and pjsg_active_location.csv.

You can also compare the data sources in a pairwise manner. This table is for > 3 miles. It is divided into two sections -- those sites with Data, and All sites. The format in both cases is HTML;
AFDASOSASOS2AWOSBRCACODafifFAAFlickrFMIGLOBEHADSHADSISHMesoWestMetarMLIDMSIMWNASRNCEPNDBCNEPPNexradNonFedAWOSNRCSNSDOAptsOverridePersonalRAOBRusAUDDFUpdateWC
AFD--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
ASOSAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
ASOS2AllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
AWOSAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
BRAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
CAAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
COAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
DafifAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
FAAAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
FlickrAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
FMIAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
GLOBEAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
HADSAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll----DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
HADSAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll----DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
ISHAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
MesoWestAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
MetarAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
MLIDAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
MSIAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
MWAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NASRAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NCEPAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NDBCAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NEPPAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NexradAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NonFedAWOSAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NRCSAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
NSDAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataDataData
OAptsAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataDataData
OverrideAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataDataData
PersonalAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataDataData
RAOBAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataDataData
RusAAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataDataData
UDDFAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--DataData
UpdateAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--Data
WCAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAllAll--

The HTML files above contain a number of columns:
DistanceThe distance in miles to the chosen point
NameThe station name (ICAO code)
LatitudeThe chosen station Latitude (in decimal degrees). This is what this website has determined is the best guess as to the location.
LongitudeThe chosen station Longitude (in decimal degrees). This is what this website has determined is the best guess as to the location.
ElevationThe chosen station Elevation (in meters). This is what this website has determined is the best guess as to the location.
AltLatitudeThe station Latitude from the comparison source.
AltLongitudeThe station Longitude from the comparison source.
AltElevationThe station Elevation from the comparison source.
SourceThe URL (or other) of the chosen source for the location data.

The TXT and CSV files that contain the complete database have the following columns:

  1. Site code
  2. WMO Id (if available)
  3. Place name
  4. State
  5. Country code
  6. Latitude
  7. Longitude
  8. Elevation in meters
Website comments, problems etc to
Philip Gladstone

Last modified Monday, 13 February 2012