Near-real time mapping of Keetch-Byram drought index in the south-eastern United States

Abstract

High spatial resolution maps of daily Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) are constructed for the south-eastern United States. KBDI is a cumulative algorithm for estimating fire potential from meteorological information, including daily maximum temperature, daily total precipitation, and mean annual precipitation. With few input parameters, the KBDI is attractive for providing estimates of fire potential at a large number of locations. The Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC) applies the original algorithms over daily time steps to maximize the response time in the event of rapidly increasing fire potential. Algorithms are applied to a network of 261 weather stations across the south-eastern United States to provide regional contour maps of KBDI as well as maps of week-to-week KBDI difference. Though uniformity and spatial density of weather stations and the consistency of input parameters are potential hurdles, it is shown that careful compilation of meteorological databases makes KBDI a tractable and valuable monitoring tool for automated fire-potential monitoring.