Interception of precipitation by grass canopies in annually burned and unburned tallgrass prairie was measured for individual precipitation events from 1983 to 1984. Seasonal patterns of interception closely reflected differences in grass canopy development throughout the growing season in burned but not unburned prairie. Mean interception for the study period was 38 and 19% for unburned and burned prairie, respectively, indicating tht througfall volume in burned prairie was approximately 1.3 times that of unburned prairie on an annual basis. Thus, water availability for plant uptake may be initally higher in burned prairie, especially early in the growing season