Traditionally, climate information has largely been viewed and used as discrete points in space. The demand for spatial climate information in areas not discretely sampled is rapidly increasing, driven by models and applications that require such data. In hydrology, agriculture, natural resource management and other fields accurate spatial climate information is now required, and a new system for both the development and delivery of such information is now in place. The modeling system leading this shift toward climate in a spatial perspective is PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model), developed at Oregon State University. PRISM is being used to develop the new national climate atlas under funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for the development of all climate layers being produced in support of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) activities, for the creation of a 100-year, high-resolution spatial climate data set of the U.S. (under sponsorship from both NOAA and NASA), and for a host of other applications. The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) in Portland, Oregon is leading in the delivery of PRISM climate layers in a multi-faceted approach. This includes the development of CD-ROM’s featuring climate layers organized by themes (precipitation, temperature, etc.) and containing data is a variety of formats to meet user’s needs. Included in these are GIS-compatible layers, as well as data browsers and data in easy-to-use formats for novices. Web-based climate data delivery is also at the heart of this multi-faceted approach. To ensure compatibility with new USDA Service Centers, PRISM climate data will be packaged for convenient use by USDA field staff, and training will be provided in interpretation and use of spatial climate information. Finally, spatial climate information is considered critical in the development of the new National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). As a first step in establishing spatial climate standards meeting NSDI and FGDC framework guidelines, the NWCC in conjunction with NOAA and other interested parties will work toward the establishment of a Geospatial Climate Working Group, under the NSDI umbrella. Initial efforts and accomplishments in this regard will be discussed.