Shapefile Type: polygon
Data source: Derived from NWS Public Forecast Zones
Naming convention: W_ddmmyy where ddmmyy = day-month-year
NWS Specifications: NWSI 10-507
Description: The CWA boundaries are the counties/zones for which each Weather Forecast Office (WFO) is responsible for issuing forecasts and warnings. The shapefile was created by aggregating public zones with the same CWA designation into a single polygon and manually adjusting the boundaries of the exceptions to the rule.
Due to technical issues, the implementation date for zone changes has been moved to April 16, 2026. New files will be available by March 4, 2026, and the files will be locked down on March 24, 2026.
| Description | Valid Date | Data Download | #Records | MD5sum | Documentation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Warning Areas | 18 March 2025 | w_18mr25.zip | 125 | cc80d248f0918cfdbfd1d3f0440d1874 Date Last Updated: 23-DEC-24 |
Change History | Metadata |
| 16 April 2026 | w_16ap26.zip | 125 | b8614c30e80d68b7ccb74ff599c57c39 Date Last Updated: 03-MAR-26 |
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Shapefile Attributes:
| Field Name | Type | Width | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WFO | character | 3 | WFO Identifier (name of CWA) |
| CWA | character | 3 | CWA Identifier (same as WFO) |
| LON | numeric | 10,5 | Longitude of centroid [decimal degrees] |
| LAT | numeric | 9,5 | Latitude of centroid [decimal degrees] |
| REGION | character | 2 | NWS Region (Eastern (ER), Western (WR), Central (CR), Southern (SR), Alaska (AR), Pacific (PR) |
| FULLSTAID | character | 4 | Full 4 character internal NWS Station ID for CWA |
| CITYSTATE | character | 50 | City and state in which the WFO office is located |
| CITY | character | 50 | City designator for office |
| STATE | character | 50 | Full state name in which office is located |
| ST | character | 2 | Two character state abbreviation for state where office is located |
