The PRISM Climate and Weather System – An Introduction

The most widely used spatial climate data sets in the United States are those developed by Oregon State
University’s PRISM Climate Group, named for the PRISM climate mapping system. PRISM products are the
official spatial climate data sets of the USDA, and are used by thousands of agencies, universities, and companies
worldwide. Now, PRISM is being put to work to improve the efficiency and integrity of the US crop insurance
program. In this article, we introduce you to the history of climate mapping, how the PRISM weather and climate
mapping system was developed, and how it works.

http://prism.oregonstate.edu/documents/PRISM_history_jun2013.pdf