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Precipitation Data Access and Tools
NASA has a wide range of precipitation data, from hourly rainfall estimates to reanalysis datasets looking back decades. Our datasets and tools help users spot characteristics, trends, patterns, and anomalies in the precipitation that falls to Earth and understand how it affects natural areas and human communities.
Precipitation Datasets
| Dataset | Platforms | Instruments | Temporal Extent | Location Keywords | Spatial Extent | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CERES-MODIS and hourly geostationary cloud properties stratified by ISCCP cloud types for day and night. | Terra, Aqua, GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES | MODIS, IMAGING RADIOMETERS | 2000-03-01 to Present | GLOBAL, STRATOSPHERE | HDF4 | |
| Chang SSM/I Derived Monthly Rain Indices 5 x 5 degree V2.3 (RAIN_CHANG) at GES DISC | DMSP, DMSP 5D-2/F11, DMSP 5D-2/F8 | SSM/I | 1987-07-01 to 1995-12-31 | ATLANTIC OCEAN, INDIAN OCEAN, SOUTHERN OCEAN, PACIFIC OCEAN, GLOBAL | N: 50 S: -50 E: 180 W: -180 | |
| Characteristics of African Savanna Biomes for Determining Woody Cover | FIELD INVESTIGATION, NOAA-7, LABORATORY, FIELD SURVEYS | DENSIOMETERS, AVHRR, CHN ANALYZERS, VISUAL OBSERVATIONS | 1981-01-01 to 2003-12-31 | N: 16.761 S: -27.75 E: 37.2375 W: -15.8392 | CSV | |
| Climate Normals for Last Glacial Maximum and Modern (1975-2005), Alaska | COMPUTERS | Computer | 1000-01-01 to 2005-12-31 | ALASKA | N: 74 S: 47.7384 E: -106.933 W: -178.236 | GeoTIFF |
| Cloud Radar System (CRS) IMPACTS | NASA ER-2 | CRS | 2020-01-25 to 2023-02-28 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | N: 48.658 S: 31.073 E: -64.894 W: -95.46 | HDF-5 |
| CMS: Evapotranspiration and Meteorology, Water-Limited Shrublands, Mexico, 2008-2010 | FIXED OBSERVATION STATIONS, METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS | SOIL HEAT FLUX TRANSDUCER, EDDY CORRELATION DEVICES, IRGA, SOIL MOISTURE PROBE, RAIN GAUGES | 2008-01-01 to 2010-12-31 | N: 32.0301 S: 29.741 E: -110.534 W: -116.605 | CSV | |
| COWVR STP-H8 Surface Wind Vector and Column-Integrated Atmospheric Water Measurements Version 10.0 | ISS | COWVR | 2022-01-08 to Present | N: 61 S: -61 E: 180 W: -180 | HDF5 | |
| Daily Rainfall Data (FIFE) | FIELD INVESTIGATION | RAIN GAUGES | 1982-04-27 to 1989-12-30 | N: 39.11 S: 39.07 E: -96.55 W: -96.61 | multiple | |
| Daily SnowModel Outputs Covering the ABoVE Core Domain, 3-km Resolution, 1980-2020 | MODELS | Computer | 1980-09-01 to 2020-08-31 | ALASKA, CANADA | N: 75.8357 S: 49.8038 E: -84.3282 W: -176.915 | netCDF-4 classic |
| Daymet: Annual Climate Summaries on a 1-km Grid for North America, Version 4 R1 | MODELS | Computer | 1950-01-01 to 2024-12-31 | HAWAII, PUERTO RICO, NORTH AMERICA | N: 83.7064 S: 6.07616 E: -53.055 W: -178.204 | multiple |
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Featured Precipitation Observation Method: GPM
NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) platform provides next-generation global observations of rain and snow to help researchers better understand Earth's water and energy cycles and forecast extreme weather and related events.
During this webinar we will provide an overview of TRMM and GPM precipitation data products and discuss the various ways to discover and access these data. We will also demonstrate the visualization and analysis tools and services provided by NASA's Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).
NASA’s global precipitation data and data processing systems have come a long way from the launch of TRMM in 1997 to the ongoing GPM mission.
9 MIN READ
Precipitation Data Tools
| Tool Sort descending | Description | Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldview | Worldview offers the capability to interactively browse over 1,200 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and download the underlying data. | Analysis, Search and Discovery, Visualization, Access, Comparison, Monitoring Natural Events |
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Frequently Asked Questions
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