The now defunct SurfaceStations.org (Surface Stations), sometimes referred to as the Surface Stations Project, was a website that allowed volunteers to document the quality of surface weather-observation stations used to publish official temperature data. The data was collected using the official metrics of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to determine the accuracy of temperature readings. Surface Stations found that over 70 percent of the stations were categorized as having “poor” or the “worst” ratings, resulting in temperature records being higher than if stations were properly positioned. ¹

Between 2011 and 2013, the right-of-center Heartland Institute claimed that NOAA closed over 600 weather stations due to Surface Stations reporting that the stations were positioned in places that gave them a “heat bias.” ¹

Background

SurfaceStations.org was a website created in 2007 by meteorologist Anthony Watts to serve as a database that tracked the quality of the near-surface temperature data published by the U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) under the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The website tracked USHCN stations surface temperature data and analyzed its accuracy by using photographs and “anecdotal” evidence to determine potential biases and errors in the recording of official surface temperature data. ²

Surface Stations solicited volunteers to contribute to its data collection by searching for USHCN stations, taking pictures of them, and noting any potential variables that could invalidate the temperature data. Watts stated that he and his partner Russ Steele would manage the data, validate it, and preserve it through the Surface Stations database. ²

Research

SurfaceStations.org’s research sought to determine if U.S. surface temperature data were skewed due to the “urban heat island” effect. The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon whereby objects or other surfaces that absorb and radiate heat such as asphalt which are common in urban areas increase recorded temperatures. Surface Stations participants had found weather stations recording surface temperature next to air conditioning units, asphalt parking lots, and “hot rooftops.” ³

Surface Station’s research rated temperature collection sites using the same metrics created by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) produced under NCEI, a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Under the NCDC rating system, Class 1 stations are most reliable and are at least 100 meters from artificial heat or reflected heat, and Class 5 stations are least reliable, having close proximity to artificial heat. ³

Reports

By 2009, Surface Stations had rated and catalogued 865 of the 1,221 weather stations in the United States and published a report titled “Is the U.S. Surface Temperature Record Reliable?” that documented its findings. The report claimed to have found that only three percent of stations were Class 1 quality, while 58 percent were Class 4, meaning they were within 10 meters of a heat source. The report also showed that 11 percent were Class 5, 20 percent were Class 3, and eight percent met the criteria for Class 2. ⁴

In addition to using the National Climatic Data Center data-collection reliability metrics based on proximity, the Surface Stations report included thermal imaging to show how temperature collection near heat sources such as power transformers or buildings are affected by the radiation of heat from nearby sources. ⁴

The report discussed how in a 2003 report, the NCDC acknowledged that weather collection data had “significant shortcomings” due to the prevalence of USHCN weather stations that were subjected to unreliable temperature reporting due to stations that were close to heat sources. The NCDC report also cited the use of uncalibrated and low-quality instruments. The Surface Stations report investigated the “shortcomings” described in the NCDC reports, resulting in additional findings on how temperature data can be corrupted. ⁴

The Surface Stations report stated that Watts consulted with Roger Pielke Sr., professor emeritus at the Department of Atmospheric Science for Colorado State University, to reveal that Pielke allegedly discovered NCDC climate record data used an algorithm called FILNET that “infills” missing data from weather stations to report temperature data on behalf of stations that failed to report. Watts and Pielke concluded that the data is estimated, potentially skewing data, but could not confirm to what extent it skews data or whether it had an upwards or downwards bias based on available information for the algorithm.  ⁴

People

Anthony Watts was the founder of SurfaceStations.org, a meteorologist who spent 25 years as a television weatherman and has since published his own weather content and sold recreational weather monitoring devices. Watts is a self-described “skeptic” of anthropogenic climate change but has supported weather-dependent energy to promote general environmental cleanliness. ⁵

1. Carducci, Alyssa. “NOAA Closes Some Heat-Biased Temperature Stations.” The Heartland Institute. October 15, 2013. https://heartland.org/opinion/noaa-closes-some-heat-biased-temperature-stations/.
2. McIntyre, Stephen. “surfacestations.org.” Climate Audit. June 4, 2007. https://climateaudit.org/2007/06/04/surfacestationsorg/.
3. Cook, John. “Is the U.S. Surface Temperature Record Reliable?” Skeptical Science. August 31, 2009. https://skepticalscience.com/Is-the-US-Surface-Temperature-Record-Reliable.html.
4. Watts, Anthony. “Is the U.S. Surface Temperature Record Reliable?” Heartland Institute. Accessed February 20, 2026. https://goldengalaxies.net/Quasarpdflibrary/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Is-the-U.S.-Temperature-Record-Reliable-By-Anthony-Watts.pdf.
5. Watts, Anthony. “About.” Watts Up With That. Accessed February 22, 2026. https://wattsupwiththat.com/about2/.