pvlib.iotools.read_crn

pvlib.iotools.read_crn(filename)[source]

Read a NOAA USCRN fixed-width file into pandas dataframe. The CRN is described in 1 and 2.

Parameters

filename (str, path object, or file-like) – filepath or url to read for the fixed-width file.

Returns

data (Dataframe) – A dataframe with DatetimeIndex and all of the variables in the file.

Notes

CRN files contain 5 minute averages labeled by the interval ending time. Here, missing data is flagged as NaN, rather than the lowest possible integer for a field (e.g. -999 or -99). Air temperature in deg C. Wind speed in m/s at a height of 1.5 m above ground level.

Variables corresponding to standard pvlib variables are renamed, e.g. SOLAR_RADIATION becomes ghi. See the pvlib.iotools.crn.VARIABLE_MAP dict for the complete mapping.

CRN files occasionally have a set of null characters on a line instead of valid data. This function drops those lines. Sometimes these null characters appear on a line of their own and sometimes they occur on the same line as valid data. In the latter case, the valid data will not be returned. Users may manually remove the null characters and reparse the file if they need that line.

References

1

U.S. Climate Reference Network https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/crn/qcdatasets.html

2

Diamond, H. J. et. al., 2013: U.S. Climate Reference Network after one decade of operations: status and assessment. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 94, 489-498. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00170.1