Produced by the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center, this Quantitative Precipitation Forecast shows the amount of liquid precipitation expected to fall over the next 24 hours. (In the case of snow or ice, the forecast represents the amount of liquid that will be measured when the precipitation is melted.) Precipitation amounts can vary significantly over short distances, especially when thunderstorms occur, so the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast is defined as the expected "areal average" (on a 20 x 20 km grid) in inches.
Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (QPF) data were available in a GIS format from the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. The QPF maps on Drought.gov are updated daily and are valid from 12z (7 a.m. Eastern) that day.