High-quality spatial climate data sets for the United States and beyond

A number of peer-reviewed, spatial climate data sets of excellent quality a nd detail for the United States are now available. The data sets are suitab le for a variety of modeling, analysis, and decision-making activities. The se products are the result of collaboration between Oregon State University 's Spatial Climate Analysis Service and USDA NRCS, NOAA Office of Global Pr ograms, NOAA National Climatic Data Center NASA, Environment Canada, and ot her agencies. The development of these high-quality maps was made possible through the development and use of PRISM, a knowledge-based climate analysi s system that uses point climate data, a digital elevation model, and other spatial data sets to generate gridded, GIS-compatible estimates of annual, monthly and event-based climatic elements. Mapped elements currently avail able for the United Stares include 1961-1990 mean monthly and annual precip itation, maximum and minimum temperature, dew point temperature, relative h umidity: snowfall, heating and cooling degree days, growing degree days, me dian last spring and first fall frost dates, median freeze-free season leng th, and others. In addition, century-long gridded time series of monthly pr ecipitation and minimum and maximum temperature for the lower 48 states wil l be available in 2001. Map products for other countries, including China a nd Canada, are nearing completion.