Short answers are delivered at no charge, but larger amounts of data are sent on a cost recovery basis. The State Climatologist's office also accepts queries about weather in other states. If the climatologist cannot provide an answer, referrals are made. As the name suggests, the MCC's scope of interest is broader than that of the State Climatologist. The agency has detailed information for a nine-state region, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Some data are also available for the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., plus Ontario and Quebec.
The Midwestern Climate Center takes questions from a wide variety of interests. Agribusiness is an important client, but the MCC also assists with insurance claims, legal matters, university research projects, and construction planning. MCC accepts written, fax, telephone, or email inquiries from any person seeking regional weather information. The NCDC also maintains records of environmental satellite images, weather radar data, and marine surface observations. The first three Web sites mentioned here permit you or your patron to post a question via email to one or more climatologists, generally with reasonable costs incurred.