Statistically-downscaled monthly historical (1901-2000) CRU TS 2.1 and projected future (2001-2099) CMIP3 A2 and A1B simulated temperature, precipitation, and sunshine data on a 30-second grid of the northwest United States and southwest Canada, version 1

This data set consists of monthly mean temperature (degrees C), total precipitation (mm), and possible sunshine (%) data statistically downscaled onto a 30-second grid of the northwest United States and southwest Canada. Historical climate data for 1901-2000 were developed from the CRU CL 1.0, CRU CL 2.0, and CRU TS 2.1 data sets (http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/hrg/). Projected future climate data for 2001-2099 were developed using climate model simulations produced by five coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models: CCSM3, CGCM3.1(T47), GISS-ER, MIROC3.2(medres), and UKMO-HadCM3. These climate simulations were obtained from the World Climate Research Programme\'s (WCRP\'s) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) multi-model data set (http://www-pcmdi.llnl.gov/ipcc/about_ipcc.php). We used simulations produced under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 and A1B greenhouse gases emissions scenarios. Additional documentation on the climate models is available at: http://www-pcmdi.llnl.gov/ipcc/model_documentation/ipcc_model_documenta…. Shafer et al. (2015, PLoS ONE) describe the methods used to create the downscaled data. The climate data in this data set were developed for use in modeling species and ecosystem responses to climate change and may not be suitable for other applications. Specifically, these data are numerical estimates of historical climate and projections (not predictions) of potential future climate. The data are provided in self-documenting netCDF files, which provide additional details for each variable.