GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Precipitation Monthly Normal for 1981-2010 from PRISM

Download Data
Data Provider Montana Climate Office
Date 01/01/1981 - 12/31/2010
Content Type Downloadable Data
Abstract This raster dataset shows the monthly normal precipitation (rain plus melted snow) in millimeters with a grid cell resolution of 5151-meters (~5-kilometers). The normal is defined as the arithmetic mean of the annual sum of daily precipitation over a 30-year period. The current 30-year interval for calculating normals is 1980 to 2010. The standard deviation is also provided for calculating daily or annual z-score departures or similar statistics. Normals serve as a reference point for comparing current climatological trends to that of the past. A 30-year period is long enough to filter out any inter-annual variation or anomalies, but sufficiently short enough to reflect longer term climatic trends. The 30-year interval was selected by international agreement, based on the recommendations of the International Meteorological Conference in Warsaw in 1933.
Purpose Gridded topographic-climatic datasets are increasingly used to drive many ecological and hydrological models and assess climate change impacts. These datasets can be an invaluable tool for spatially explicit ecological and hydrological modelling, for facilitating better end-user understanding, and for advancing community-driven model improvements. The PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) spatially gridded precipitation dataset provides modeled estimates of daily total precipitation (rain plus melted snow) for the conterminous United States. PRISM data products are produced by the PRISM Climate Group of the the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering at Oregon State University (http://prism.oregonstate.edu). PRISM products are distributed in a licensed 800-meter grid format and a public 4-kilometer format in a North American 1983 (NAD83) projection. The Montana Climate Office redistributes this product in Montana State Plane NAD83 projection with a 5151-meter grid in both geotiff and Esri geodatabase format. The PRISM interpolation method was used to develop data sets that reflected, as closely as possible, the current state of knowledge of spatial climate patterns in the United States. PRISM calculates a climate–elevation regression for each digital elevation model (DEM) grid cell, and stations entering the regression are assigned weights based primarily on the physiographic similarity of the station to the grid cell. Factors considered are location, elevation, coastal proximity, topographic facet orientation, vertical atmospheric layer, topographic position, and orographic effectiveness of the terrain. Station data were spatially quality controlled. This grid was initially modelled with PRISM at 30-arc-second (~800-m) resolution to produce the source . This source grid was then upscaled to 2.5-arc-minute (~4-km). During the process of re-projecting the grid from NAD83 to Montana State Plane the nominal grid size for the re-sampling is ~5 km.
Supplemental Information Processed from .bil raster file source using Python 2.7 code maintained by the Montana Climate Office.
The Montana Climate Office (MCO) provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The MCO did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The MCO provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the MCO be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The MCO makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The MCO reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
Data Access ftp://mco.cfc.umt.edu/prcp/PRISM/monthly_normals/Readme.html
Distributor Michael D. Sweet Research and Information Systems Specialist Montana Climate Office
32 Campus Drive
 Missoula, Montana 59812-0576
Telephone: 406.243.5265
TDD/TTY:
Fax:
Email: michael.sweet@umontana.edu
Distribution liability The Montana Climate Office (MCO) provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The MCO did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The MCO provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the MCO be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The MCO makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The MCO reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
View Metadata
View Metadata (XML)
Metadata date 02/11/2015

Page History

Data List Quick Search


Search by single word or exact phrase
Advanced Search

Data Categories