U.S. Daily Weather Maps

Use the search box below to identify maps for a specific timeframe.  The search box searches the Filename(s) and Date field for each map. 

Search tips

• Daily Maps (April 1871 to April 1968):
  • To retrieve an exact file, search using digits only: the full digit year, two-digit month, and two-digit day (e.g., "19640506" for April 6, 1964).
  • To list maps for a larger span of time, enter a partial date (e.g., "1962051" to see maps for April 10-19, 1962).
• Weekly Maps (May 1968 to December 2002):
  • Search for the 4-digit year and name of month only (e.g., "1968 November") to see all maps available for that month or parts of that month.  (This searches the Date field, and is best for matching against the weekly maps.)
  • More specific searches may not retrieve a file if the timespan of the map does not begin or end on your specified date.
  • If the listing is not already in chronological order, you can sort the table on "PDF Link" (by clicking the down arrow above the column, after you search)
• Recent Weather Maps (January 2003 to present):
  • Available from the Weather Prediction Center
  • See also: more information about the Daily Weather Maps at the Weather Prediction Center (with quick links to the most recent maps)

Viewing Files

If viewing weather maps in the Djvu file format, this requires the free DjVu plugin, DjVu Libre. The plug-in is available for Windows, MacOS, and Unix.

NOTE: Some PDF versions of the weather maps can be substantially larger than the Djvu versions. If you are downloading a series of weather maps, you may want to consider downloading the Djvu versions.

History of the Daily Weather Map

The U.S. Signal Office began publishing weather maps as the War Department Maps on Jan. 1, 1871. When the meteorological activities of the Signal Corps were transferred to the newly-created Weather Bureau in 1891, the title of the weather map changed to the Department of Agriculture Weather Map. In 1913, the title became simply Daily Weather Map. In 1969, the Weather Bureau began publishing a weekly compilation of daily maps with the title Daily Weather Maps (Weekly series).

The earliest weather maps featured only a map of the continental U.S. with the day's air temperature, barometric pressure, wind velocity and direction, and a general indication of the weather for various cities around the country plotted directly on the map.

Within a short time the Signal Office added a table showing the change in barometric pressure during the most recent 8 hours, the temperature change within the most recent 24 hours, relative humidity, and total precipitation within the most recent 24 hours. The Signal Office also added a general discussion of synoptic weather features and forecast, and then isobars and isotherms, on the maps. By the end of 1872 the map had acquired the format it would use for the rest of its run.

The daily weather maps for the period January 1 - August 6, 1914, also include a Northern Hemisphere map with data table.