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prism

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

Download data from the Oregon PRISM climate data project http://www.prism.oregonstate.edu/

github.com/ropensci/prism ↗

prism rebuilds on Oregon State's new API and starts the move to cloud-optimised GeoTIFF.

climate dataprismapi migrationcloud optimized geotiffr package
◆Current state
prism downloads and handles PRISM climate data in R. Version 0.3.0 rewrites the package against the API Oregon State introduced in September 2025, arriving after a gap the maintainer apologises for. Normals now download as cloud-optimised GeoTIFF rather than .bil, so helper functions such as pd_plot_slice() and pd_image() do not work with them. Archives mixing old and new API data trigger a warning and a recommendation to start fresh.
◆Where it's heading
The package is mid-migration on two axes at once: the API endpoint, which is done, and the file format, where only normals have moved to COG while everything else still fetches .bil. The stated plan is to take the whole package to COG. Until that lands, capability is split — data downloads fine, but the plotting and slicing helpers only cover the old format.
◆Prediction
The next substantive release should extend COG downloads beyond normals and restore the helper functions against that format, closing the gap this release opened.

◆Recent moves

  1. 8mo ago

    Rebuilt on the new PRISM API; normals move to COG

    ⚡ SPARK

    A forced rewrite against Oregon State's September 2025 API, plus the first COG downloads. It restores the package to working order while deliberately leaving the helper functions behind on normals.

    View source ↗
  2. 2y ago

    Subscription URLs and safer download defaults

    A service parameter opens the download functions to subscription-based URLs beyond the public 4km data, and defaults change so callers must state the years they want. Small interface tightening from before the API upheaval.

    View source ↗