Variable, years and levels available
Data is available from Jan 1948 to the present for most variables and is updated the first or 2nd week of the month with the previous month's data. Sigma level variables are available only until Apr 1998 ONLY pressure and air temperature are available for the tropopause level and ONLY u and v winds, relative humidity and pressure for the surface (.995 sigma). Streamfunction, divergence, vorticity and velocity potential are available ONLY on sigma levels.
Sea Surface Temperature: This is from the NOAA OU SST data (prescribed) over the ocean. Over land it is the skin temperature (prescribed as well). Sea Ice (which varies near land) affects these values and so the plotting range may not be as great over the tropics as desired. Using a lower latitude or specifying the contour range should help.
Index time series have cover a range of years. Some go back as far as 1948 but some don't. Please check the time series for actual data.