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PRISM monthly climatology

The climate of British Columbia exhibits a very large spatial variability, owing to its complex topography, mixture of coastal and continental influences and large latitudinal extent. This makes it challenging to describe the detailed spatial patterns of climate with station-based climatologies alone. The PRISM method, described below, is able to capture many aspects of the fine-scale climatology of BC. Within the PRISM climatology data portal, users can:

  • Access temperature and precipitation climatologies at ~ 800m resolution for the 1971 to 2000, 1981 to 2010, and 1991 to 2020 climate normal periods across all land-surface areas in British Columbia
  • Access temperature and precipitation monthly time series over BC at the same resolution, spanning the 1950-2007 period
  • Zoom, pan and select a region of interest using the interactive map
  • Download data in NetCDF or ASCII formats
Access the PRISM climatology and monthly time series

About the data

The Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), developed by the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University, leverages the known strong relationship between elevation and climatic variables, a high-resolution digital elevation model, and extensive station data to provide estimates of monthly climatological values on a regular grid of horizontal scale less than 1km. Data from thousands of temperature and precipitation observation sites in British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta, Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana are integrated into the product. The procedure  includes weighting factors to account for station clustering, differing record lengths, proximity to ocean, and topographic aspect. PRISM also employs a two-layer atmosphere model employing an additional data source (the North American Regional Reanalysis) that allows for the description of temperature inversions. 

PRISM has been tested and verified throughout the United States and has been applied in numerous countries across the globe, including western Canada (for the 1961-1990 normal period). PCIC has worked in partnership with OSU since 2011 to apply PRISM to observational data in British Columbia. 

Please cite this dataset as:

  • Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, University of Victoria, and PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, (2014, 2024). High Resolution Climatology. Downloaded from <Permalink> on <Date>.

The 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 maps benefit from substantial data contributions by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation (AGI). AGI maintains and quality controls data collected by the province of Alberta and Environment Canada. These data were critical for defining the climate near the BC/Alberta border.

We would also like to gratefully acknowledge financial support and reviewer expertise from The Bonneville Power Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Northwest River Forecast Center. This enabled the production of quality maps for both the 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 climate normals periods.

In addition, PCIC is grateful for the assistance of the PRISM Climate Group, who selflessly provided advice when it was needed.

Finally, the production of these maps would have been impossible without the continuing support of the BC Government Climate Related Monitoring Program. This program is facilitated by an agreement that allows observing network operators in BC to collaborate in network operation and data sharing. It also provides PCIC with a mandate to provide access to the shared data via PCIC’s BC meteorological station data portal.

Daly, C., M. Halbleib, J.I. Smith, W.P. Gibson, M.K. Doggett, G.H. Taylor, J. Curtis and P.P. Pasteris, 2008: Physiographically sensitive mapping of climatological temperature and precipitation across the coterminous United States. International Journal of Climatology, 28, 15, 2031-2064, doi: 10.1002/joc.1688.

This data has been obtained from a variety of sources and is provided as a public service by the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. The data is provided by the Consortium on an “AS IS” basis without any warranty or representation, express or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. Any reliance you place upon the information contained here is your sole responsibility and is strictly at your own risk. In no event will the Consortium be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, arising from reliance upon the data or derived information.

In addition to PCIC's terms of use, the data are subject to the terms of use of the PRISM Climate Group: PRISM Climate Group 30-year normals terms of use.