Analyses of moisture availability, determined from GOES infrared surface temperature measurements and a boundary layer model, and antecedent precipitation are presented for data taken over Texas and Argentina. Correlations between antecedent precipitation and moisture availability are high (∼0.8) where the spatial variation in moisture availability (or ground temperature) is much larger than an inherent uncertainty in the method, which we judge to be about ±0.2 for the moisture availability parameter. In regions where there are large gradients of precipitation the infrared method can provide useful information on variations in soil moisture availability and, by implication, in precipitation.