Transatlantic Fire Resource Guide
Drought and Precipitation
DWD – Regional Climate Center: Decadal Precipitation
Operator: German Meteorological Service (DWD) – Regional Climate Centre for Climate Monitoring
Geographic Focus: Europe and surrounding regions (WMO RA VI coverage)
Tags: Drought · Map · Archive · Climatology
Access: Free, public
URL: https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/rcccm/int/rcccm_decad_rrr.html
As the WMO-designated Regional Climate Centre for Climate Monitoring (RCC-CM) for Europe, the DWD produces maps showing observed precipitation totals and anomalies aggregated over 10-day (decadal) periods, covering Europe, the North Atlantic, and adjacent regions. These products contextualize short-term rainfall deficits against climatological norms, supporting drought and dryness assessments across national boundaries. For transnational fire risk assessment — particularly in southern and central Europe — these maps offer a timely precipitation-deficit perspective that bridges weather monitoring and seasonal climate analysis.
HPRCC – ACIS Climate Summary Maps
Operator: High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC) / University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in partnership with NOAA NCEI
Geographic Focus: United States (national CONUS coverage)
Tags: Drought · Map · Archive · Climatology · Decision Support
Access: Free, public
The ACIS Climate Maps tool, developed by the High Plains Regional Climate Center in partnership with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, provides routinely updated maps of recent weather and climate data for decision support — including temperature and precipitation departures from normal across a wide range of user-selectable timescales (daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, and custom date ranges). Spatial coverage spans the entire CONUS, with data drawn from the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS), which integrates quality-controlled station observations. For fire weather analysts and drought monitors, these maps serve as a rapid diagnostic for identifying regions experiencing recent precipitation deficits or anomalous warmth — key antecedent conditions for elevated fuel flammability.
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
Operator: NOAA / National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), multi-agency
Geographic Focus: United States (national, regional, and state level)
Tags: Drought · Real-Time Monitoring · Forecast · Map · Decision Support
Access: Free, public
URL: https://drought.gov
Drought.gov serves as the central U.S. government portal for drought information, aggregating data from multiple federal agencies — including NOAA, USDA, USGS, and FEMA — into a single interface covering current conditions, seasonal outlooks, historical records, and sector-specific impacts (agriculture, water supply, ecosystems, wildfire). The platform supports the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) mandate to enable early warning and preparedness across all relevant sectors. For fire managers and land use planners, it provides a one-stop resource to contextualize fire danger within broader drought and water-stress conditions, including regionally tailored tools and drought impact reporter submissions.
NOAA CPC – United States Drought Information Portal
Operator: NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) / National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
Geographic Focus: United States (national); selected products extend to global coverage
Tags: Drought · Index · Map · Climatology · Research
Access: Free, public
The CPC Drought Information Portal is a comprehensive index-based drought monitoring and prediction hub consolidating a broad suite of products including the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for U.S. and global monitoring with seasonal and sub-seasonal predictions, Palmer Drought Severity Indices (PDSI), Crop Moisture Indices, NLDAS-derived soil moisture percentiles, Standardized Runoff Index, Integrated Drought Index, Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI), flash drought monitoring, surface temperature extremes, and multiple surface hydrology variables — alongside links to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, the Monthly Drought Outlook, and the Seasonal Drought Outlook. The range of indices available — spanning atmospheric, soil, hydrological, and evaporative demand perspectives — makes this portal uniquely valuable for users who need to go beyond a single drought metric to understand the multi-dimensional character of moisture deficits affecting fuel conditions. For fire weather analysts, land managers, and fire danger forecasters, the CPC Drought portal is the most analytically deep freely available U.S. drought monitoring resource, enabling differentiation between short-term surface drying (critical for fine fuel flammability) and deep hydrological drought (governing large-fuel moisture and long-term fire potential) — context that is essential for interpreting fire danger outlooks and anticipating elevated large-fire risk.
NOAA WPC – Probabilistic Precipitation Forecasts
Operator: NOAA Weather Prediction Center (WPC)
Geographic Focus: Contiguous United States (CONUS)
Tags: Forecast · Probabilistic Forecast · Map · Short-Range · Operational
Access: Free, public
This product extends beyond deterministic forecasts by providing ensemble-derived probability maps showing the likelihood of exceeding specific precipitation thresholds (e.g., ≥0.01", ≥0.25", ≥1.00") over forecast periods from Day 1 out to Day 7. Rather than showing a single expected rainfall amount, it communicates forecast uncertainty and the range of possible outcomes — highly valuable when assessing the reliability of forecast precipitation relief for fire operations. Fire weather meteorologists and incident teams can use these probabilities to weigh the credibility of a forecast rain event when planning suppression operations or prescribed burn windows.
NOAA WPC – Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF)
Operator: NOAA Weather Prediction Center (WPC)
Geographic Focus: Contiguous United States (CONUS)
Tags: Forecast · Map · Short-Range · Operational
Access: Free, public
The QPF products provide operational precipitation amount forecasts for the CONUS at daily intervals out to seven days, showing predicted rainfall totals across forecast periods (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Days 4–7). Produced by WPC meteorologists using ensemble guidance and numerical weather prediction models, the maps indicate where and how much precipitation is expected, enabling assessment of both flood risk and potential fire weather relief. For fire operations, QPF is a critical tool for evaluating whether forecast precipitation is sufficient to meaningfully reduce fuel moisture and fire danger — or whether it falls below the threshold needed to affect ongoing fire behavior.
UFZ Drought Monitor Germany
Operator: Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Geographic Focus: Germany (national, federal state and soil-depth resolution)
Tags: Drought · Index · Real-Time Monitoring · Map · Research · German
Access: Free, public
The UFZ Drought Monitor is produced by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and provides near-real-time maps of soil moisture anomalies across Germany at multiple depths — topsoil (0–25 cm), root zone (0–60 cm), and total soil column (0–180 cm) — classified on a percentile scale relative to a long-term climatological reference. By distinguishing shallow from deep soil moisture deficits, the monitor captures both short-term agricultural drought and the persistent hydrological drying that elevates forest fire susceptibility.
U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM)
Operator: National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC/UNL), NOAA, USDA
Geographic Focus: United States, Puerto Rico, Pacific Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands
Tags: Drought · Index · Real-Time Monitoring · Map · Archive
Access: Free, public
The USDM publishes weekly maps — released each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET based on data valid the preceding Tuesday — classifying drought intensity across five categories (D0 Abnormally Dry through D4 Exceptional Drought), with separate notations for short-term and long-term impact types. The maps synthesize dozens of meteorological, hydrological, and soil moisture indicators, and are produced by expert authors from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. For wildfire professionals, the USDM is a critical reference for characterizing antecedent moisture deficits and long-term fuel drying trends that underpin elevated fire danger, particularly in transitioning from D2 upward — categories well correlated with elevated large-fire activity. Downloadable GIS layers, time series data, and a comprehensive archive back to 2000 further support analytical and operational use.