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Wikipedia:WikiProject Weather/Sources

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The purpose of this page is to help improve the references in Wikipedia articles related to the weather and meteorology. It serves to inform users about a source's reliability as it pertains to meteorological topics. This list is merely a collection of some sources; other good sources do exist that are not listed here. You can help to expand this list by starting a discussion about a source on the talk page.

Legend

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Legend
  •   Generally reliable Generally reliable: Editors show consensus that the source is reliable for use on meteorological topics in most cases. The source can reasonably be held to standards of fact-checking, accuracy, and error-correction, often in the form of a strong editorial team. It will still be necessary to analyze how much weight to give the source and how to describe its statements. Arguments to exclude such a source entirely must be strong and convincing.
  •   No consensus Additional considerations: The source is marginally reliable (i.e. neither generally reliable nor generally unreliable), and may be usable depending on context. Editors may not have been able to agree on whether the source is appropriate, or may have agreed that it is only reliable in certain circumstances. It will likely be necessary to evaluate each use of the source on a case-by-case basis while accounting for specific factors unique to the source in question. Carefully review the Summary column of the table for details on the status of the source and the factors that should be considered.
  •   Generally unreliable Generally unreliable: Editors show consensus that the source is questionable in most cases. The source may lack an editorial team, have a poor reputation for fact-checking, fail to correct errors, be self-published, or present user-generated content. Outside exceptional circumstances, the source should normally not be used, and it should never be used for information about a living person. Even in cases where the source may be valid, it is usually better to find a more reliable source instead. If no such source exists, that may suggest that the information is inaccurate.
  •   Deprecated Deprecated: There is community consensus to deprecate the source. The source is considered generally unreliable, and use of the source is generally prohibited. Despite this, the source may potentially be able to be used for some uncontroversial self-descriptions, although reliable secondary sources are still very much preferred.
  • Discussion in progress Discussion in progress: The source is currently being discussed. Italic numbers represent active discussions (all discussions that are not closed or archived) on the reliable sources noticeboard. Letters represent discussions outside of the reliable sources noticeboard.

List of sources

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Perennial meteorological sources
Source Status
(legend)
Discussions and information
List Last Summary
American Meteorological Society (AMS)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a very well-known and highly cited scientific and professional organization in the United States, which also hosts numerous scientific journals. All published by AMS are considered reliable sources.
AmericanWx
Generally unreliable
Generally unreliable
Community-controlled weather forum. Unreliable as anyone can add information, whether accurate or not.
Aon
AccuWeather (News reporting)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
1, 2, 3, 4 2025 There is a general consensus that AccuWeather is a reliable source for reporting weather-related news. As noted below, there is an exception, which is when AccuWeather reports damage estimates.
AccuWeather (Damage estimates)
WP:AccuWeather 📌
Generally unreliable
Generally unreliable
1, 2, 3, 4 2025 There is a general consensus that AccuWeather is generally unreliable for reporting the damage estimates from storms, as AccuWeather does tend to exaggerate damage totals. Two clear examples brought up by editors in discussions include AccuWeather's estimate for Hurricane Harvey, which was $65 billion over the official U.S. government estimate and their estimate for Hurricane Helene, which was over 3 times that of the official estimates.
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, and as such, all published in BAMS are considered reliable sources.
Convective Chronicles
Doppler on Wheels (DOW)
Eric Wang
European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) is a widely cited scientific organization, which documents various weather events and climatological events across Europe and Northern Africa. Most citations will be of the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) managed by the ESSL.
Force Thirteen
Generally unreliable
Generally unreliable
1 2024 There is large consensus that Force Thirteen, a YouTube channel which self-publishes info on weather, is unreliable and therefore should not be cited on Wikipedia.
Tornadoes and Severe Storms French Observatory (Keraunos)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
Keraunos is a French meteorological organization specializing in severe weather. Keraunos is known for the detailed damage surveys and publication regarding tornadoes in France. They are considered generally reliable in terms of weather events in France.
Howard Bluestein
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
Howard Bluestein is a research meteorologist known for his mesoscale meteorology, severe weather, and radar research. He participated in the VORTEX projects and is one of the co-inventors of the tornado-measuring device TOTO. As such, Howard Bluestein is considered a reliable source for meteorology.
Iowa Environmental Mesonet
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM) is a branch of Iowa State University. IEM is one of the main hosts for raw products from the National Weather Service, and as such, items hosted on IEM's website often directly originate from the U.S. government. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet is generally considered a reliable source for information.
Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (JAMC)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (JAMC) is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, and as such, all published in JAMC are considered reliable sources.
Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (JAS)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences (JAS) is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, and as such, all published in JAS are considered reliable sources.
June First and Ethan Moriarty
No consensus
No consensus
1 June First, headed by Ethan Moriarty, has uploaded multiple video-form analyses of tornadoes and severe weather events. Moriarty is involved in various engineering projects, including a research project with Quinnipiac University, but editors were unable to find consensus as to whether or not Moriarty's Master's Degree in structural engineering made them a subject-matter expert in severe weather more broadly. In particular, concerns were brought up over all videos being uploaded to YouTube, a self-published source, in addition to videos themselves lacking organized citations for many claims being made.
Monthly Weather Review (MWR)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Monthly Weather Review (MWR) is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, and as such, all published in MWR are considered reliable sources. From 1873–1973, Monthly Weather Review was a direct publication of the U.S. government.
National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Centers for Environmental Information is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government. The NCEI is officially responsible for documenting and archiving official observations and some publications from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration starting in 2015. Official records for weather events between 1959 and November 2018 are in Storm Data. Starting in December 2018, NCEI ceased publication of Storm Data and relied on the Storm Events Database as the new place for official meteorological reports.
National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government. The NCDC was officially responsible for documenting and archiving official observations and some publications from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration between 1934 and 2015. These included Climatological Data National Summary (published 1950-1980) and Storm Data (between 1959 and 2015). In 2015, NCDC was dissolved after being merged into the National Centers for Environmental Information.
National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government. The NHC has the official authority to issue information regarding tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The National Hurricane Center website and social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are considered reliable sources.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a branch of the federal government of the United States and is responsible for all official meteorological and climatological data and information for the United States. NOAA also does publications for and collects data outside the United States.
National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government.
National Weather Service (NWS)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The National Weather Service (NWS) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government.
Nick Stewart
RaXPol
Reed Timmer
Ryan Hall, Y'all
Shifu R. Careaga
Generally unreliable
Generally unreliable
1 2024 There is a small consensus that publications by Shifu R. Careaga (typically on Academia.edu) have historically been pseudoscientific theories and therefore should not be cited on Wikipedia.
South African Weather Service (SAWS)
Storm Prediction Center (SPC)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government.
The Weather Channel 1
Timothy P. Marshall
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
Timothy P. Marshall
Thomas P. Grazulis
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
Thomas P. Grazulis is an American meteorologist who has written extensively about tornadoes and produced documentaries as head of The Tornado Project. Grazulis has published numerous books on tornadoes, including two often-cited books: Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991 and Significant Tornadoes 1974–2022, with the former often cited in academic publications and even by the National Weather Service. There is a consensus that Thomas P. Grazulis is a reliable source for information on tornadoes
Tornado Archive
Tornado Project
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
1 2023 A single good article nomination found the Tornado Project, which is headed by Thomas P. Grazulis, is a generally reliable source.
Tornado Talk
Generally unreliable
Generally unreliable
1, 2 2025 There is a general consensus that Tornado Talk is a generally unreliable source. This is because Tornado Talk is a self-published resource, that the authors published on the website do not have any relevant credentials or publications in academic sources establishing them as experts, and that Tornado Talk doesn't seem to put much care when sourcing content, giving an example of several images taken from Wikipedia where the given attribution is to Wikipedia as a project instead of to the file's copyright holder. In addition, one case was brought up in which Tornado Talk cited a Wikipedia article with multiple uncited claims.
Weather and Forecasting (WAF)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
The Weather and Forecasting (WAF) is a scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, and as such, all published in WAF are considered reliable sources.
Weather Prediction Center (WPC)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States federal government.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Generally reliable
Generally reliable
N/A N/A The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a branch of the United Nations.