PRISM Climate Data
Website Update:  Daily Map Graphics Generator
Our new web-based Daily Map Graphics Generator has been released. This tool allows users to generate up to a month's worth of daily map graphics at a time, on-the-fly, for any PRISM climate variable from 1981 to present. The graphics are always generated from the most up-to-date PRISM datasets. The tool also provides the option of including an animation (MP4 format) of the generated map graphics. Alert posted 2023-03-16

The PRISM Climate Group gathers climate observations from a wide range of monitoring networks, applies sophisticated quality control measures, and develops spatial climate datasets to reveal short- and long-term climate patterns. The resulting datasets incorporate a variety of modeling techniques and are available at multiple spatial/temporal resolutions, covering the period from 1895 to the present. Whenever possible, we offer these datasets to the public, either free of charge or for a fee (depending on dataset size/complexity and funding available for the activity).


Journal articles describing how we developed our daily precipitation grids and solar radiation normals are now available!
High-Resolution Data Available
The native grid resolution of the PRISM datasets is 800m, but they have been filtered to 4km resolution for easier downloading and manipulation on this website. The 800m versions of all PRISM datasets, which contain 25x more information, are available to users for a fee. Details on availability, pricing, and ordering are found here.

30-Year Normals: At the end of each decade, average values for temperature and precipitation are computed over the preceding 30 years. The current set of 30-year normals covers the period 1991-2020.

Comparisons: Maps showing how observed values have been deviating from long-term conditions (also known as anomalies) - includes the new Drought Indicator tool.

This Month: Although still very preliminary, results based on daily data readings are available for the month-in-progress.

Prior 6 Months: Provisional results based on both monthly and daily data are available for the 6 most recently completed months.

Recent Years: Daily and monthly observations become stabilized after 6 months. At that point the time series datasets are posted in this section, along with annual values computed at the end of each year.

Historical Past: Values prior to 1981 are based on less extensive observations. Time series datasets computed using monthly modeling are available for the years 1895-1990.

Projects: Map images and data prepared for outside agencies but now released for public use. Includes USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Maps, climate data for areas outside the continental U.S., and map images for individual states.

Data Explorer: analyze and download time-series data for a single location.

FAQ: Answers to frequently asked questions

This website is supported by the USDA Risk Management Agency