Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) Keetch-Byram Drought Index
(KBDI) is an index used to determining forest fire potential.
The drought index is based on a daily water balance, where a
drought factor is balanced with precipitation and soil moisture
(assumed to have a maximum storage capacity of 8-inches) and is
expressed in hundredths of an inch of soil moisture depletion.
The drought index ranges from 0 to 800, where a drought index of
0 represents no moisture depletion, and an index of 800
represents absolutely dry conditions. Presently, this index is
derived from ground based estimates of temperature and
precipitation derived from weather stations and interpolated
manually by experts at the Texas Forest Service (TFS) for
counties across the state. Researchers at Texas A&M University
are working with the TFS to derive this index from AVHRR
satellite data and NEXRAD radar rainfall within a GIS.