About Selected Cities
Since the early 1970's, the NWS’s National Centers for Environmental
Prediction (NCEP) have issued two widely-distributed text products,
the Selected Cities Summary (SCS) and the Travelers Forecast (TAV).
The SCS provides basic observations (Temperatures and Precipitation)
for the previous day and 2-day forecasts of temperature and Character
of Day (CoD) for 162 cities in the United States, Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands, while the TAV provides 2-day forecasts
for 30 US cities and Puerto Rico. Each of these products is created
by gathering the Coded Cities Forecasts (CCF) issued by NWS Weather
Forecast Offices (WFOs) and adding previously observed weather
data.
NWS instruction 10-504, “National Public Weather Forecast
Products Specification,” describes the generation of the
SCS as:
“NCEP’s Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC)
issues the Selected Cities Forecast to provide observed maximum
and minimum temperatures, observed precipitation, and forecast
weather and temperatures for 162 cities in the United States,
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This product is heavily
used by the print media and supports the public weather program.”
The SCS is a highly visible product that is issued twice daily around 0100 and 1300 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Cities covered in the SCS product are listed in alphabetical
order and the product is divided into four sections to enhance
readability. The range of cities covered in each section are:
- Part 1 -- Abilene, TX through Columbus, OH
- Part 2 -- Concord, NH through Lexington, KY
- Part 3 -- Lincoln, NE through St. Thomas, V.I.
- Part 4 -- Salem, OR through Yuma, AZ
The last section of Part 4 also includes the observed High and
Low temperatures from the continental United States (CONUS).
Latest Traveler's Forecast
About the Traveler's Forecast
The Traveler's Forecast is an abbreviated version of the Selected Cities Forecast. The Traveler's Forecast, like Selected Cities, is transmitted twice daily, one hour before the Selected Cities. It includes temperature and weather forecasts for the next two days for 30 cities in the United States. The product consists of three sections; cities are listed in alphabetical order in each. Forecast data is obtained from Coded Cities Forecasts generated at local NWS Weather Forecast Offices. |