1. DCP/HADS Mainpage
  2. Data Download

DCP/HADS Data Download

This form allows you to download whatever data the IEM was able to collect from the GOES/DCP/HADS/AHPS (insert other acronyms here) data collection platforms. This dataset is huge and the download may take a number of seconds to process.

A static dump of the database was made on 22 December 2022 and may be useful for those of you wanting it all!

Backend Documentation exists for those that wish to script against this service.

Select from State/Country:

1. Select Station(s):

2. Select Start/End Time:

Times are specified in UTC. Archive starts in 2002 for Iowa and on 9 Dec 2010 for all others. You can request up to one year of data when requesting multiple stations. When requesting all stations, you can only request 24 hours worth of data.

YearMonthDay Hour
Start:
End:

3. How to download/view?

3a. Data Delimitation:

If you selected 'Delimited Text File' above, how do you want the values separated in the downloaded file?

5. Optional: Search for Threshold Exceedance

For stations that report a stage value ("HG" SHEF variable group), you can optionally search for when the value exceeds this threshold. The print out will include:

  • Timestamp when threshold was exceeded.
  • First timestamp when the value was at its peak.
  • Timestamp when the value crossed below the threshold.

You can only do this search for one station at a time!
Thresold:
Type / Source Code:

6. Submit Form:

Frequently Asked Questions:

1 How do I make sense of the headings in the download file?

Great question! This dataset is based on the IEM processing of SHEF-encoded products relayed by the NWS. SHEF uses a series of identifiers to label various reported values. These labels are explicitly stored within the database without any translation into more common terms. Sadly, translating these labels into more usable terms is an operation left to the end-user.

The magic decoder ring is the SHEF Manual, which is 150 pages long! Fear not, in general, you can scroll down to page 65 and review Tables 1 and on. The variable labels used in the downloaded file should be broken apart and used as lookups in the table. For example, HGIRRZ should be broken up as follows.

HGTable 1HG Height, river stage (FT, M)
ITable 3I Instantaneous (0000)
RRTable 4RR Radio #1
ZTable 5Z Null character (filler) or UTC Time

Some codes may be longer than 6 characters, so good luck reading the manual! In general, you can see why it is hard to provide this data with any simplier headings. As always, feel free to contact us with questions. In general, the first three characters are the most important, which are the variable type and duration of observation.

Publications Citing IEM Data

These are publications that have cited the usage of data from this page. This list is not exhaustive, so please let us know if you have a publication that should be added. Hopefully by early 2025, this listing can be more complete.