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Met Office - MIDAS Land Surface Data Extractor


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* UK Weather Observations Data

The data for each of the data types is stored in the Met Office MIDAS Surface data directories in yearly files. These files are large and as a result can be difficult to work with. The data extractor is available for your use, so that you can extract data from specific areas.

In order to use the Data Extractor you must be registered with the BADC and have been granted access to the Surface data and/or MIDAS Surface data dataset.

The extracted data will be copied as ascii files to your Requested Data (Requests) directory, which you can access through the link on your My BADC webpage. The format is as outlined in the tables information.

How to import a text file to Excel If you intend to import the text file into Excel, please remember that MS Excel is limited to 65,536 rows of data. If the data file is too large data will be cropped to fit. Use MS Access if you need to open a large file.

Please follow this procedure to extract UK surface data from the MIDAS database - downloaded monthly from the Met Office to the BADC. The most recent available data for most tables will be for the previous month.

Extracting Data

How to find a weather station Using the Interactive map Use the MIDAS station search engine to find stations and make a note of their src_ids or copy them to clipboard.

Follow this link to the data extractor. It can be used to extract MIDAS data for one or more weather stations at a time. Choose to extract data for a whole county, area or individual named station(s), by src_id.
For a worked example of using the Data Extractor to obtain MIDAS data view this webguide. view guide
  1. Logon using your usual BADC username and password.
  2. Select Met Office MIDAS Land Surface Observation Stations Data as the 'Dataset Group'. Proceed
  3. Select the Data type from the list. You may select more than one. Proceed
  4. Tick the 'All variables [mandatory]' box or choose 'select 'all'. Proceed
  5. Click on the Domain Option to 'Group all similar domains' - this option enables you to select the same dates and location(s) for all the data types that you require. If you do not choose to group all similar domains you can select different dates and locations for each data type that you require.
  6. If you are selecting data for more than one station or data type it is suggested that you tick the box to 'Use multiple output files'. Proceed
  7. Check the details of your request. Note that the location(s) you have selected will override the default station info which is listed. If you are happy with the summary, click Confirm.
The server may take a little while to process your request. You can check the status of your request on the final webpage that appears but you will also be sent an email (to the email address registered with the BADC) confirming that your data extraction job has completed and with a download link.

* Who to Contact

This data extractor is still work in progress. If you have queries about it or about obtaining the MIDAS surface stations data from the BADC then you should contact BADC Support. Your query should be answered within one working day. When follow-up work is required, the BADC support will carry out the work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and in any case, the user will be kept informed of progress.