4.

MEASUREMENT OF HYDROLOGICAL DATA

In this chapter the student will learn the different types of precipitation, different
methods of measuring precipitation, why precipitation is measured, how is
precipitation analysed and how precipitation varies in distribution in both space and
time.

Precipitation
Precipitation is an important phase in the hydrological cycle. It represents the process
by which water vapor is removed from the air and it is distributed over the earth’s
surface in a solid or liquid form.

For precipitation to occur significant atmospheric moisture must be available in the

presence of cool temperatures and condensation. The prime source of atmospheric
moisture is oceanic evaporation. Transpiration by plants as well as evaporation from
land and water surfaces afford additional moisture. The moisture present in an air
mass is measured in terms of absolute humidity, which is mass of water vapor per unit
volume of air. When the air mass holds as much water vapor as it can at a specific
temperature, it is alleged to be saturated. Then the capacity of the air to hold water
decreases as the temperature decreases and water vapour condenses to a liquid state
when the air is cooled below a certain temperature (dew point).The water droplets are
formed, as soon as these water droplets are of adequate mass to overcome air
resistance, precipitation will occur.

4.1 Forms of precipitation

Precipitation occurs in the following forms:

• Drizzle
• Rain
• Glaze
• Sleet
• Snow
• Mist
• Fog
• Frost

1
 • Dew
• Hail

4.2 Precipitation Types

The common precipitation types are convention precipitation, orographic precipitation
and cyclonic precipitation. Below is an explanation of how each of these precipitation
types occur.

• Orographic precipitation (driven by lifting mechanism): For the orographic

precipitation to occur, the wind carries most of the moist air from the water
surface to a land surface. In catchments where there are mountain ranges that
interrupt the path of the wind. The large mountains force the warm moist air to
rise upwards pass the range. The increase in altitude causes the air to expand
and its pressure to decrease, resulting in lower temperature. When the air
temperature is lowered to a point where the saturation humidity is reached,
water vapor condenses and precipitation takes place.

Figure 1: Illustrating the orographic precipitation.

Sourced from: https://www.aboutcivil.org/imajes/orographic-precipitation.gif

2
 • Convective precipitation (driven by thermodynamic lifting): Is common
during summer in the tropics and cities. The convective precipitation results
from the heating of the earth’s surface during the day. The air mass
subsequently heats up and absorbs more water vapor because the evaporation
accelerates. The warm air rises rapidly into the atmosphere. As the air rises it
cools and the water vapor condenses into clouds and precipitation occurs.

Figure 2: Illustrating the convective precipitation.

Sourced from: http://www.qsstudy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Convectional-

Rainfall.jpg

3
 • Cyclonic precipitation (driven by frontal storms): Occurs when the air
masses from high pressure regions move toward low pressure regions.
Unequal heating of the earth’s surface creates the pressure differences. When
the warm air mass meets with cold air mass, the warm air rises. As the warm
air rises, it cools then condensation and precipitation occur along the front.

Figure 3: Illustrating the cyclonic precipitation.

Sourced from: https://cdn.civiljungle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/500-occluded-

front.jpg

Please click the link to access more material discussing how the different types of
precipitation occur, only read page1-3.

https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt008JFDB1/engineering-design-handbook-28/rain-
introduction Retrieved from: Engineering Design Handbook - Environmental Series, Part Two -
Natural Environmental Factors: (AMCP 706-116) - 7.1 Introduction and Description. (pp. 1-3). U.S.
Army Materiel Command.

4
4.3 Precipitation studies
Meteorologists, hydrologists and hydraulic engineers are interested in the following
hydrological aspects of precipitation studies:

• The measurement of precipitation

• The amount and form in which precipitation occurs
• The variations in precipitation distribution in both space and time
• The analysis of precipitation data

As an engineer, you would need to estimate precipitation such as rainfall magnitude

for design purposes. The maximum rainfall expected for a specific duration is required
for flood-control design and stormwater management structures. The minimum rainfall
expected during a drought period is required for designing adequate water storage
and water supply systems. The frequency and duration of moderate rainfall occurrence
is required for designing non-point source pollution, that enable washing away of
pollutants that build up on the land surface.

4.4 Measuring precipitation

Of all the forms of precipitation only rain and snow make significant contributions to
the precipitation totals at a given place. Snowfall is rather difficult to measure
accurately, and most precipitation records are in fact rainfall equivalent records. Snow
has the capacity to retain water and so acts as a form of storage. Fresh fallen snow
can be measured simply by a graduated ruler or directly by an ordinary rain gauge
fitted with a heating system. In South Africa, however, snow only occasionally occurs
and in large parts only once a decade or less and because of this our module will focus
on rain measuring.

Rain is measured with the aid of the rain gauge. There are two basic types of rain
gauges. The self-recording rain gauge and the non-recording rain gauge.

The self-recording rain gauge has a mechanism to measure the volume or weight of
rainfall reaching the gauge as well as the exact time. This mechanism allows a record
to be made on a moving chart by means of a pen or sometimes a punched or magnetic
tape. It shows exactly how much rain fell, at precisely what time of each day, and
whether there were sudden showers or a prolonged drizzle. There are three
commonly used self-recording rain gauges listed below:

5
• The tilting siphon: The tilting siphon is the most in areas with excessive
rainfall, like the tropics. It involves a small collecting chamber fitted with a float.
As rain falls and fills up the chamber, the float rises, and a pen attached to the
top traces a graph on a chart fixed to a cylindrical drum driven by clockwork.
When the chamber is filled with enough rainwater it tilts over on a pivot and the
contents flow out of the gauge. The float returns to its original level and the pen
now rests at the base of the chart. One complete cycle measures a certain
volume of rainfall.

• The tipping bucket: The tipping bucket consists of a funnel that collects the
rainfall and a rain meter. Internally the bucket is separated at the centre creating
two evenly divided containers and it can rotate round a pivot between two rest
positions. The external rain collector funnel discharges into the internal funnel,
which in turn fills one of the internal bucket’s containers. As it receives water
the centre of mass of the whole bucket changes; and it is forced to tilt towards
the opposite rest position. Each filling must correspond to a certain volume of
rainfall and the tipping closes an electrical switch so that a mark is made on a
chart. Calibration of the tilting bucket instrument is done in way that each time
the switch is activated a precise amount of water is discharged into the water
outlets then both outlets discharge into a shared container placed beneath the
rain meter. This container collects all the fallen rain, enabling the number of
switch activations to be confirmed to see if they agree with the gathered volume
of rainwater. The resolution of a tipping bucket is given by the volume of water
that makes the bucket tip up. This volume is referred to the catchment area of
the funnel and expressed in millimetres (mm). The World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) recommends rain tipping gauges with a catchment area
of 200 cm2 and a resolution of 0.1 mm.

Since rain gauge meter performance is based on a seesaw mechanism, it must

be ensured that the tipping bucket is levelled during installation to work
correctly. Some tipping bucket models provide levelling screws and a bulls-eye
level for easy and precise adjustment in the field and some models have a
heater to prevent the seesaw mechanism from freezing when used in cold

6
 weather. For optimum functioning of the tipping bucket periodical maintenance
is mandatory, birds perching, and insects could clog the funnel.

Figure 4: Presentation of the tipping bucket rain gauge internally

Source from: Guaraglia et al., (2014)

• The weighing collector system: The principle of the weighing collector

system consists of weighing the precipitation caught by a bucket. It can
determine the precipitation of rain, snow or hail. For this purpose, it uses a high-
precision load cell to weigh the bucket fillings and a temperature sensor for
compensating the temperature changes in the load cell. The rainfall rate is
attained as the difference in rainwater accumulated over a given time interval.
The bucket must be emptied by hand or by using a pump after a given period
of precipitation to prevent it from overflowing.

Click on the link provided below to visualize how the tilting siphon and tipping bucket
operates.

https://youtu.be/BOe0l9lucas (Tilting siphon)

https://youtu.be/WmHk7bSMs08 (Tipping bucket)

7
The non-recording rain gauge has no mechanism for recording the amount of rain that
falls. It consists of a container with a funnel and two interior receptacles as well as a
graduated measuring jar. Where it is not practical to attend to a gauge every day, the
collected rain may be accumulated for weekly or monthly measurement. In that case
the receiving vessel must be larger, and attention must be provided to reduce losses
due to evaporation between measurements.

Two modern methods of estimating precipitation namely weather radar and weather
satellites will conclude this section of measurement of precipitation. Weather radar is
basically a system of locating targets, capable of reflecting high frequency radio waves
(microwaves). Information is presented visually on a television-like screen. Weather
radar is now being used in precipitation studies to:
• Estimate the intensity of rainfall
• Estimate the total rainfall over a given area
• Evaluate the vertical and horizontal extent, development and direction of motion
of rain areas
• Detect and track severe storms for flood warning purposes.

8
The range of weather radar is however limited to about 160-240km from the set
location. It is also hampered by mountainous regions as only a small area can be
covered at a time.

Weather satellites can play a major role in rainfall monitoring, particularly in remote,
inhospitable uninhabited areas of the world which lack adequate conventional weather
stations. There can now be distinguished between precipitation clouds and non-
precipitation ones based on differences in their radiation reflection characteristics
(Barret, E.C., Martin, D.W. 1981). Rain producing weather systems like depressions,
hurricanes and organised thunderstorms can also be monitored. Satellite data are
therefore providing useful information in our efforts to confirm the extent, direction of
movement and type of rainstorm.

There are two basic types of weather satellites. The first is the polar-orbiting satellites,
travelling in near polar orbits and are located 800-900km above the earth’s surface.
They observe weather over the area lying in their path every 12 hours at the same
local time. The second is Geo-stationary weather satellites, which travel around the
equator at heights of about 35 000km above the earth’s surface. The earth and the
weather satellite move in the same path at the same velocity. In effect, this means the
satellite remains stationary relative to the earth, hovering over a given area of the earth’s
surface giving an almost continuous coverage of the atmosphere conditions.