PRISM

Datasets:

• PRISM - 4km - Daily
• PRISM - 4km - Monthly
• PRISM - 800m - Monthly

Description: 

Gridded climate datasets for the conterminous United States

The PRISM Climate Dataset provides high-resolution, spatially explicit climate information for the conterminous United States. It uses the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) to generate gridded estimates of key climate variables by leveraging weather station data and a digital elevation model.

The PRISM dataset is developed and maintained by the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University. It offers a long-term, spatially continuous record of daily and monthly climate variables, including precipitation, temperature (minimum, maximum, mean), dewpoint temperature, and vapor pressure deficit. The underlying model, PRISM, is a hybrid statistical-geographic approach that uses point measurements of climate data and a digital elevation model (DEM) to generate gridded estimates. The model's key strength lies in its ability to account for complex climate-elevation relationships and topographical features like rain shadows, temperature inversions, and coastal effects, which are critical for accurate climate mapping, especially in mountainous regions.

The PRISM methodology has been extensively validated and is considered a benchmark for climatological mapping in the US. Its accuracy stems from a weighted regression scheme applied to local station data, where the weighting is influenced by distance, elevation, and the topographical orientation of the landscape. The resulting grids are widely used in hydrology, agriculture, ecology, and resource management.

Organization: Oregon State University

Website: PRISM Website

Google Earth Engine: 

• PRISM DAILY Info (OREGONSTATE/PRISM/AN81d)
• PRISM MONTHLY 4km Info (OREGONSTATE/PRISM/AN81m)
• PRISM MONTHLY 800m Info (projects/sat-io/open-datasets/OREGONSTATE/PRISM_800_MONTHLY)

Spatial resolution: 

• PRISM - 4km - Daily: 4-km grid (1/24-deg)
• PRISM - 4km - Monthly: 4-km grid (1/24-deg)
• PRISM - 800m - Monthly: 800m grid

Time Span: 

• PRISM - 4km - Daily: 1981-present
• PRISM - 4km - Monthly: 1895-present
• PRISM - 800m - Monthly: 1895-present

Variables:

• Minimum/Maximum/Mean Temperature
• Mean Dew Point Temperature
• Precipitation
• Minimum/Maximum Vapor Pressure Deficit
• Potential Evapotranspiration (Hargreaves method)
• Potential Water Deficit (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration)
• Standardized precipitation index (SPI)
• Evaporative Drought Demand Index (EDDI) utilizing the Hargreaves PET
• Standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI)

Terms of Use:

• These PRISM datasets are available without restriction on use or distribution. PRISM Climate Group does request that the user give proper attribution and identify PRISM, where applicable, as the source of the data.

References:

• Daly, C., Halbleib, M., Smith, J.I., Gibson, W.P., Doggett, M.K., Taylor, G.H., Curtis, J., and Pasteris, P.A. 2008. Physiographically-sensitive mapping of temperature and precipitation across the conterminous United States. International Journal of Climatology, 28: 2031-2064.(PDF)
• Daly, C., J.I. Smith, and K.V. Olson. 2015. Mapping atmospheric moisture climatologies across the conterminous United States. PloS ONE 10(10):e0141140. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141140. (PDF)