Merge function produces random NA's

Question

I am trying to merge two data sets by DATE but NA's are made in my new data set even though values exist for all dates in both individual data sets.

Also, the order needs to be in proper order (that is: Date: 2000-1, 2000-2, 2000-3, 2000-12). How can I also fix the ordering instead of it reading 2000-1, 2000-12, 2000-2... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

tq <-read.table(header=T, sep=",",text="
DATE, avalanches
2000-1,1
2000-2,0
2000-3,0
2000-12,0
2001-1,0
2001-2,1
2001-3,0
2001-12,0
2002-1,0
2002-2,0
2002-3,1
2002-12,0
2003-1,0
2003-2,1
2003-3,0
2003-12,0
2004-1,0
2004-2,1
2004-3,0
2004-12,2
2005-1,1
2005-2,0
2005-3,0
2005-12,1
2006-1,0
2006-2,0
2006-3,0
2006-12,1
2007-1,0
2007-2,2
2007-3,0
2007-12,3
2008-1,0
2008-2,0
2008-3,0
2008-12,4
2009-1,0
2009-2,0
2009-3,0
2009-12,39
2010-1,81
2010-2,143
2010-3,39
2010-12,49
2011-1,25
2011-2,39
2011-3,57
2011-12,17
2012-1,92
2012-2,37
2012-3,55
2012-12,141
2013-1,136
2013-2,97
2013-3,122
2013-12,155
2014-1,125
2014-2,155
2014-3,100
2014-12,129
2015-1,107
2015-2,62
2015-3,94
2015-12,150
2016-1,195
2016-2,96
2016-3,96
2016-12,131
2017-1,201
2017-2,154
2017-3,93
2017-12,116
2018-1,168
2018-2,118
2018-3,126
2018-12,166
2019-1,173
2019-2,176
2019-3,162")




avalancheobs<-read.csv(header=T, stringsAsFactors =F, text='
STATION,NAME,DATE,DT32,SNOW,TMIN
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT","2000-01","20","15.0","27.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-02","16","5.1","31.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-03","17","6.2","32.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-04","1","0.0","42.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-05","0","0.5","49.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-06","0","0.0","58.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-07","0","0.0","66.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-08","0","0.0","66.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-09","0","0.0","52.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-10","0","0.0","42.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-11","28","17.0","24.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2000-12","30","12.9","22.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-01","31","6.6","21.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-02","23","13.1","26.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-03","12","5.3","35.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-04","5","9.9","40.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-05","0","0.0","50.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-06","0","0.0","57.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-07","0","0.0","66.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-08","0","0.0","65.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-09","0","0.0","56.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-10","3","0.0","42.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-11","12","18.8","33.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2001-12","29","20.0","19.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-01","30","16.1","17.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-02","27","0.7","18.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-03","17","14.4","28.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-04","4","3.6","40.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-05","1","0.0","46.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-06","0","0.0","57.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-07","0","0.0","67.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-08","0","0.0","61.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-09","0","0.0","54.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-10","4","0.0","38.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-11","25","0.2","27.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2002-12","27","3.4","27.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-01","23","0.0","28.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-02","21","9.0","26.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-03","12","5.4","34.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-04","5","4.4","40.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-05","0","0.0","49.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-06","0","0.0","58.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-07","0","0.0","69.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-08","0","0.0","67.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-09","0","0.0","52.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-10","3","1.0","44.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-11","16","10.7","30.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2003-12","28","31.2","26.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-01","30","9.9","16.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-02","28","19.8","19.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-03","11","3.9","37.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-04","1","1.0","42.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-05","0","0.0","48.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-06","0","0.0","57.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-07","0","0.0","65.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-08","0","0.0","61.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-09","0","0.0","52.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-10","1","0.1","44.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-11","19","3.3","30.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2004-12","25","3.7","25.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-01","26","6.7","28.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-02","25","11.3","26.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-03","11","2.8","33.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-04","2","0.0","39.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-05","0","0.0","47.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-06","0","0.0","54.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-07","0","0.0","66.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-08","0","0.0","63.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-09","0","0.0","52.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-10","0","0.0","43.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-11","19","1.1","32.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2005-12","28","6.9","22.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-01","27","9.3","26.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-02","22","13.5","23.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-03","16","13.3","32.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-04","4","2.2","42.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-05","0","0.0","50.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-06","0","0.0","58.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-07","0","0.0","69.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-08","0","0.0","63.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-09","0","0.0","50.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-10","6","0.0","39.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-11","20","8.1","30.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2006-12","27","9.9","22.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-01","31","10.8","11.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-02","22","13.1","27.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-03","7","2.5","35.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-04","2","0.0","41.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-05","0","0.0","49.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-06","0","0.0","58.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-07","0","0.0","70.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-08","0","0.0","67.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-09","0","0.0","53.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-10","1","0.1","40.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-11","19","0.8","30.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2007-12","29","29.8","20.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-01","31","17.1","15.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-02","27","17.4","24.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-03","18","8.3","30.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-04","12","0.0","34.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-05","2","0.0","45.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-06","0","0.0","56.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-07","0","0.0","67.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-08","0","0.0","63.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-09","0","0.0","53.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-10","5","0.5","41.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-11","16","3.0","33.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2008-12","28","20.8","21.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-01","28","10.3","23.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-02","23","6.3","27.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-03","20","6.0","31.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-04","5","1.4","38.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-05","0","0.0","49.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-06","0","0.0","54.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-07","0","0.0","65.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-08","0","0.0","61.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-09","0","0.0","57.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-10","4","0.5","39.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-11","18","2.8","30.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2009-12","30","17.1","16.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-01","27","2.3","21.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-02","22","2.3","28.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-03","19","5.7","32.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-04","7","5.6","38.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-05","2","0.2","42.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-06","0","0.0","55.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-07","0","0.0","65.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-08","0","0.0","62.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-09","0","0.0","53.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-10","2","1.8","45.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-11","15","20.9","30.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2010-12","24","11.5","27.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-01","30","5.9","20.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-02","24","11.0","25.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-03","11","9.1","34.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-04","8","8.2","36.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-05","1","0.0","42.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-06","0","0.0","53.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-07","0","0.0","66.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-08","0","0.0","65.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-09","0","0.0","56.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-10","4","0.0","43.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-11","22","5.5","29.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2011-12","30","0.1","20.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-01","28","6.9","23.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-02","19","7.4","28.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-03","11","4.0","38.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-04","3","1.0","41.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-05","0","0.0","49.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-06","0","0.0","58.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-07","0","0.0","69.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-08","0","0.0","69.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-09","0","0.0","57.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-10","1","0.3","43.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-11","14","15.2","35.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2012-12","18","13.1","28.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-01","30","23.8","12.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-02","28","14.7","21.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-03","12","2.7","34.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-04","6","0.1","39.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-05","0","0.0","50.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-06","0","0.0","60.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-07","0","0.0","71.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-08","0","0.0","70.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-09","0","0.0","59.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-10","0","0.0","41.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-11","11","3.5","34.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2013-12","28","19.2","16.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-01","29","10.1","21.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-02","10","2.2","33.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-03","2","0.5","38.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-04","3","0.0","40.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-05","0","0.0","49.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-06","0","0.0","56.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-07","0","0.0","68.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-08","0","0.0","62.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-09","0","0.0","58.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-10","0","0.0","44.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-11","15","0.8","31.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2014-12","18","5.7","29.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-01","26","0.3","26.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-02","14","0.0","34.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-03","9","2.8","37.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-04","3","5.8","41.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-05","0","0.0","50.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-06","0","0.0","64.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-07","0","0.0","65.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-08","0","0.0","65.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-09","0","0.0","58.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-10","0","0.0","50.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-11","18","1.4","30.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2015-12","26","15.9","24.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-01","30","10.6","24.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-02","21","3.8","28.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-03","5","2.7","37.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-04","0","0.0","44.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-05","0","0.0","50.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-06","0","0.0","64.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-07","0","0.0","70.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-08","0","0.0","66.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-09","0","0.0","55.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-10","0","0.0","46.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-11","7","5.7","37.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2016-12","31","11.1","22.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-01","28","23.2","21.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-02","17","6.7","31.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-03","6","3.6","39.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-04","0","1.0","40.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-05","0","0.1","51.1"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-06","0","0.0","62.8"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-07","0","0.0","72.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-08","0","0.0","69.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-09","0","0.0","56.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-10","1","0.0","40.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-11","9","0.0","37.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2017-12","29","7.7","25.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-01","20","9.6","30.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-02","18","14.3","30.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-03","8","10.5","37.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-04","2","1.4","43.3"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-05","0","0.0","53.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-06","0","0.0","61.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-07","0","0.0","70.7"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-08","0","0.0","65.2"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-09","0","0.0","57.0"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-10","2","0.0","43.5"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-11","19","1.7","30.6"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2018-12","29","13.2","25.9"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPOR, UT US","2019-01","30","6.6","24.4"
"USW00024127","SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UT US","2019-02","20","13.9","27.8"')

tail(avalancheobs)
str(avalancheobs)
avalancheobs$DATE<-as.factor(avalancheobs$DATE)



weather<-merge(tq,avalancheobs,by="DATE",all.x = T)
tail(weather)

DATE  avalanches   station     name dt32 snow tmin
2000-1     1       USW0021421   SL    20  15    27.4
2000-2     0   

.....

Answer 1

Your problems come from the fact that your dates are not encoded the same way in both tables.

In tq, you can have 2012-1, 2012-11, whereas in avalancheobs, you would have 2012-01, 2012-11. You need to make sure months from 1 to 9 are getting labeled with 2 digits in tq, otherwise your tables will not be able to match.

Here is how you can fix it:

tq$DATE = as.character(tq$DATE)
f = function(x){ paste(substr(x,1,5),"0",substr(x,6,6),sep = "")}
tq[nchar(tq$DATE) == 6,]$DATE = f(tq[nchar(tq$DATE) == 6,1])

First, the DATE column gets converted to characters, then f adds a 0 in the 6th position of the date string (there might be more elegant ways of achieving this).

After this, your merge will work!

weather<-merge(tq,avalancheobs,by="DATE",all.x = T)

As to your second point, you can always sort this table using dplyr::arrange

library(dplyr)
weather_sorted = arrange(weather, by = DATE)