Accurate estimation of hydro-meteorological variables is essential for adaptive water management in the North American Laurentian Great Lakes. However, only a limited number of monthly datasets are available nowadays that encompass all components of net basin supply (NBS), such as over-lake precipitation (P), evaporation (E), and total runoff (R). To address this gap, we developed a daily hydro-meteorological dataset covering an extended period from 1979 to 2022 for each of the Great Lakes. The daily P and E were derived from six global gridded reanalysis climate datasets (GGRCD) that include both P and E estimates, and R was calculated from National Water Model (NWM) simulations. Ensemble mean values of the difference between P and E (P – E) and NBS were obtained by analyzing daily P, E, and R. Monthly averaged values derived from our new daily dataset were validated against existing monthly datasets. This daily hydro-meteorological dataset has the potential to serve as a validation resource for current data and analysis of individual NBS components. Additionally, it could offer a comprehensive depiction of weather and hydrological processes in the Great Lakes region, including the ability to record extreme events, facilitate enhanced seasonal analysis, and support hydrologic model development and calibration. The source code and data representation/analysis figures are also made available in the data repository.
