Mapmaking

A complex algorithm was used for this edition of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) to enable more accurate interpolation between weather reporting stations. This new method takes into account factors such as elevation changes and proximity to bodies of water, which enabled mapping of more accurate zones.

Temperature station data for this edition of the USDA PHZM came from several different sources. In the eastern and central United States, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, nearly all the data came from weather stations of the National Weather Service. In the western United States and Alaska, data from stations maintained by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Reclamation, and DOI Bureau of Land Management also helped to better define hardiness zones in mountainous areas. Environment Canada provided data from Canadian stations, and data from Mexican stations came from the Global Historical Climate Network.

All of these data were carefully examined to ensure that only the most reliable were used in the mapping. In the end, data from a total of 7,983 stations were incorporated into the maps. The USDA PHZM was produced with the latest version of PRISM, a highly sophisticated climate mapping technology developed at Oregon State University. The map was produced from a digital computer grid, with each cell measuring about a half a mile on a side. PRISM estimated the mean annual extreme minimum temperature for each grid cell (or pixel on the map) by examining data from nearby stations; determining how the temperature changed with elevation; and accounting for possible coastal effects, temperature inversions, and the type of topography (ridge top, hill slope, or valley bottom).

Information on PRISM can be obtained from the PRISM Climate Group website (http://prism.oregonstate.edu).

Once a draft of the map was completed, it was reviewed by a team of climatologists, agricultural meteorologists, and horticultural experts. If the zone for an area appeared anomalous to these expert reviewers, experts doublechecked for errors or biases.

For example, zones along the Canadian border in the Northern Plains initially appeared slightly too warm to several members of the review team who are experts in this region. It was found that there were very few weather reporting stations along the border in the United States in that area. Data from Canadian reporting stations were added, and the zones in that region are now more accurately represented. In another example, a reviewer noted that areas along the relatively mild New Jersey coastline that were distant from observing stations appeared to be too cold. This was remedied by increasing the PRISM algorithm’s sensitivity to coastal proximity, resulting in a mild coastal strip that is more consistently delineated up and down along the shoreline.

On the other hand, a reviewer familiar with Maryland’s Eastern Shore thought the zones there seemed too warm. The data were doublechecked and no biases were found; the zone designations remained unchanged.

The zones in this edition were calculated based on 1976-2005 temperature data. Each zone represents the average annual extreme minimum temperature for an area, reflecting the temperatures recorded for each of the years 1976-2005. This does not represent the coldest it has ever been or ever will be in an area, but it reflects the average lowest winter temperature for a given geographic area for this time period. This average value became the standard for zones in the 1960s. The previous edition of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which was revised and published in 1990, was drawn from weather data from 1974 to 1986.

A detailed explanation of the mapmaking process and a discussion of the horticultural applications of the new PHZM are available from the articles listed below.

Daly, C., M.P. Widrlechner, M.D. Halbleib, J.I. Smith, and W.P. Gibson. 2012. Development of a new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map for the United States. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 51: 242-264. Link to article

Widrlechner, M.P., C. Daly, M. Keller, and K. Kaplan. 2012. Horticultural Applications of a Newly Revised USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. HortTechnology, 22: 6-19. Link to article