Heat Safety
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.
For more information on the KBDI and current maps, visit Texas Weather Connection’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index page.
You can also view a TAMU interactive map allowing you to zoom in to Fort Bend County.