Experiencing System Outages
Please note: Due to storm impacts on systems at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, NC, certain maps and statistics on Drought.gov may be experiencing issues. We apologize for any inconvenience at this time. Read more.
Global CPC Unified Daily Precipitation
NOAA National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center (CPC); NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory
The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) produces a Global Unified Daily Precipitation product from 1979-present. This product is the combination of all sources available to CPC with the goal of providing high quality and consistent precipitation data and offer a comprehensive view of precipitation patterns worldwide. This product combines precipitation data from sources including rain gauge measurements, satellite observations, and numerical weather prediction models. This product serves as a valuable resource for meteorologists, climatologists, hydrologists, and other stakeholders, enabling them to analyze and understand precipitation trends, anomalies, and potential impacts on weather and climate systems. The daily precipitation products are provided as aggregated 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12-month accumulation periods with a 3-5 day latency.
Drought is defined as the lack of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually for a season or more, that results in a water shortage. Changes in precipitation can substantially disrupt crops and livestock, influence the frequency and intensity of severe weather events, and affect the quality and quantity of water available for municipal and industrial use.
Learn MoreInches of Precipitation
This location received less than 0.01 inch of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 0.01–0.5 inch of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 0.5–1 inch of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 1–2 inches of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 2–4 inches of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 4–6 inches of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received 6–8 inches of precipitation during this 1-month period.
This location received more than 8 inches of precipitation during this 1-month period.
Inches of Precipitation
This location received less than 0.1 inch of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 0.1–1.0 inch of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 1–2 inch of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 2–4 inches of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 4–8 inches of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 8–12 inches of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received 12–16 inches of precipitation during this 2-month period.
This location received more than 16 inches of precipitation during this 2-month period.
Drought is defined as the lack of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually for a season or more, that results in a water shortage. Changes in precipitation can substantially disrupt crops and livestock, influence the frequency and intensity of severe weather events, and affect the quality and quantity of water available for municipal and industrial use.
Learn MoreAccess
CPC Global Unified Gauge-Based Analysis of Daily Precipitation – Access from NOAA's Physical Sciences Laboratory
Documentation
Interpolation Algorithm: Xie_et_al_2007_JHM_EAG.pdf Xie, P., A. Yatagai, M. Chen, T. Hayasaka, Y. Fukushima, C. Liu, and S. Yang (2007), A gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation over East Asia, J. Hydrometeorol., 8, 607. 626.
Gauge Algorithm Evaluation: Chen_et_al_2008_JGR_Gauge_Algo.pdf Chen, M., W. Shi, P. Xie, V. B. S. Silva, V E. Kousky, R. Wayne Higgins, and J. E. Janowiak (2008), Assessing objective techniques for gauge-based analyses of global daily precipitation, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D04110, doi:10.1029/2007JD009132.
Construction of the Daily Gauge Analysis: Chen_et_al_2008_Daily_Gauge_Anal.pdf Chen, M., P. Xie, and Co-authors (2008), CPC Unified Gauge-based Analysis of Global Daily Precipiation, Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting, Cairns, Australia, 29 July - 1 August, 2008.