PRECIPITATION

What is Precipitation?
Water falling in solid or liquid form e.g. rain, snow, hail.

Uses of Precipitation Data

 runoff estimation analysis

 groundwater recharge analysis
 water balance studies of catchments
 flood analysis for design of hydraulic structures
 real-time flood forecasting
 low flow studies

1
 Mechanism Producing Precipitation

Three mechanisms are needed for formation of precipitation.

1. Lifting and Cooling - Lifting of air mass to higher altitudes
causes cooling of air.
2. Condensation - conversion of water vapour into liquid
droplets.
3. Droplet Formation - Growth of droplets is required if the
liquid water present in a cloud is to reach ground against
the lifting mechanism of air.

2
 Types of Precipitation
Depending upon the way in which the air is lifted and cooled
so as to cause precipitation, we have three types of
precipitation, as given below:
• Cyclonic Precipitation

• Convective Precipitation

• Orographic Precipitation

3
1. Cyclonic Precipitation
Cyclonic precipitation is caused by lifting of an air mass due to the
pressure difference. Cyclonic precipitation may be either frontal or non-
frontal cyclonic precipitation.

Frontal precipitation results from the lifting of warm and moist air
on one side of a frontal surface over colder, denser air on the other side. A
front may be warm front or cold front depending upon whether there is
active or passive accent of warm air mass over cold air mass.

Non-frontal precipitation If low pressure occurs in an area (called

cyclone), air will flow horizontally from the surrounding area (high
pressure), causing the air in the low-pressure area to lift. When the lifted
warm-air cools down at higher altitude, non-frontal cyclonic precipitation
will occur.

4
 Frontal Ppt - Cold Front

In the case of a cold front, a colder, denser air mass lifts the warm, moist air
ahead of it. As the air rises, it cools and its moisture condenses to produce
clouds and precipitation. Due to the steep slope of a cold front, forceful
rising motion is often produced, leading to the development of showers and
occasionally severe thunderstorms.

5
 Frontal Ppt. - Warm Front

In the case of a warm front, the warm, less dense air rises up and over the
colder air ahead of the front. Again, the air cools as it rises and its moisture
condenses to produce clouds and precipitation. Warm fronts have a gentler
slope and generally move more slowly than cold fronts, so the rising motion
along warm fronts is much more gradual. Precipitation that develops in advance
of a surface warm front is typically steady and more widespread than
precipitation associated with a cold front. Warm front precipitation is generally
light to moderate
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 Low Pressure

High High
Pressure Pressure

Non-Frontal or Convergence
7
2. Convective Precipitation
Convective precipitation is caused by natural rising of
warmer, lighter air in colder, denser surroundings.
Generally, this kind of precipitation occurs in tropics,
where on a hot day, the ground surface gets heated
unequally, causing the warmer air to lift up as the colder air
comes to take its place. The vertical air currents develop
tremendous velocities. Convective precipitation occurs in
the form of showers of high intensity and short duration

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radiation

Convection
9
3. Orographic Precipitation
Orographic precipitation is caused by air masses which
strike some natural topographic barriers like mountains, and
cannot move forward and hence rise up, causing
condensation and precipitation. All the precipitation we
have in Himalayan region is because of this nature. It is rich
in moisture because of their long travel over oceans.

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Orographic
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 Forms of Precipitation
1. Drizzle: A light steady rain in fine drops (0.5 mm) and intensity <1 mm/hr
2. Rain: The condensed water vapor of the atmosphere falling in drops (>0.5
mm, maximum size—6 mm) from the clouds.
3. Glaze: Freezing of drizzle or rain when they come in contact with cold
objects.
4. Snow: Ice crystals resulting from sublimation (i.e., water vapour condenses
to ice)
5. Hail: Small lumps of ice (>5 mm in
diameter) formed by alternate freezing
and melting, when they are carried up
and down in highly turbulent air currents.

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 Forms of Precipitation
1.Dew: Moisture condensed from the atmosphere in small
drops upon cool surfaces.
2.Fog: a thin cloud of varying size formed at the surface
of the earth by condensation of atmospheric vapor
(interfering with visibility)
3.Mist: a very thin fog

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 Definitions of Useful Terms
Depth: depth of rainfall at a point or over an area (mm)

Duration: the period of time during which rain fell (hours)

Intensity:
depth of rainfall per unit time i.e. depth/duration (mm/hr)

Time distribution:
Rainfall hyetographs are plots of rainfall depth or intensity as a
function of time. Cumulative rainfall hyetographs are also called
rainfall mass curve.
Isohyets (contours of constant rainfall) can be drawn to develop
isohyetal maps of rainfall depth.

Normal Annual Precipitation (mean of 30 years annual ppt)

14
 Temporal Variation of rainfall at a particular site

Total Rainfall amount = 6.17 cm

14
Rainfall Intensity, cm/hr

12

10
8
6

4
2
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time, min

Long term Precipitation variation at Arba Minch

45
40
Annual rainfall, mm

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Years 15
Annual Precipitation
average precipitation
 Measurement of Precipitation
Rainfall varies greatly both in time and space
With respect to time – temporal variation
With space – Spatial variation

The temporal variation may be defined as hourly, daily, monthly, seasonal

variations and annual variation (long-term variation of precipitation).

Rainfall and other forms of precipitation are measured in terms of depth,

the values being expressed in millimeters.

One millimeter of precipitation represents the quantity of water needed to

cover the land with a 1mm layer of water, taking into account that
nothing is lost through drainage, evaporation or absorption.

Instrument used to collect and measure the precipitation is called rain

gauge.
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 Seven steps for Measurement of Precipitation
1. Find a clear plastic or glass container about 20 inches (50 cm) tall.

2. Keep the rain gauge upright.

• The gauge needs to remain upright for accurate rain measurement.
• To prevent it from blowing over, you could place the rain gauge in
heavy bucket or flowerpot.
• If you do not have a windproof container, you could also place some
small rocks, marbles, You will need to measure 1 inch (2.5 cm) from
the bottom of the container

3. Mark a scale on your rain gauge.

• Using a waterproof marker and a ruler, draw a scale in inches. You can
also draw a scale on a piece of paper and attach it to the container,
• Do not simply insert a ruler into the container, as you will probably not
be able to secure it and your rain measurement will not be accurate.

4. Find a level surface in an open area to place your rain gauge.

• Make sure that it is away from trees, your house, or other structures to
prevent any additional water from dripping into your gauge. 17
 Seven steps for Measurement of Precipitation
5. Check your rain gauge every day to see how much rain has fallen in
the previous 24 hours.
• Read the gauge by looking at the waterline straight on, at eye level. The
waterline's surface will be curved; this is the meniscus, formed as the
water comes in contact with the container and creates surface tension.
Your reading needs to be from the bottom of the curve for an accurate
reading.
6. Mark the amount of rainfall on a graph or chart.
• For example, you can make a 7 x 7 chart, marking the days of the week
along the top and 1 to 7 inches (2.5 to 17.8 cm) along the side. After
drawing a dot for each day to indicate the amount of rain you received,
you can use a ruler to connect the dots and see the fluctuations in the
rain measurement for that week.
7. Empty the rain gauge after each recording or remember to subtract
the previous day's reading to ensure accuracy.

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 Measurement of Precipitation
1. Point Data-Gauges
1. Non-recording rain gauges
They are known as non-recording because they do not record the rain but collect the rain.
Precipitation gauge
1 - pole
2 - collector
3 - support- galvanized,
metal sheet
4 – funnel
5 - steel ring

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20
 Measurement of Precipitation
1. Point Data-Gauges
2. Recording rain gauges
- Self recording gauges that measure rain automatically
- The recoding of rain is done through some mechanically operated
system
- It can measure depth as well as rates of rainfall over periods of
time. Three types in common use are:

1. Weighing Type 2. Tipping Bucket Type 3. Float Type

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 Measurement of Precipitation
Weighing type recording rain gauge:
• In this type of rain-gauge, when a certain weight of rainfall is collected in a
tank, which rests on a spring-lever balance,
• It makes a pen to move on a chart wrapped round a clock driven drum
• The rotation of the drum sets the time scale while the vertical motion of the
pen records the cumulative precipitation.

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 Measurement of Precipitation
Tipping Bucket type recording
rain gauge

• This consists of a cylindrical receiver

30 cm diameter with a funnel inside.
• A pair of tipping buckets is pivoted Just
below the funnel
• When one of the bucket receives a
rainfall of 0.25 mm it tips and empties
into a tank below, while the other
bucket takes its position and the
process is repeated.
• The tipping of the bucket actuates on
electric circuit which causes a pen to
move on a chart wrapped round a drum
which revolves by a clock mechanism.
• This type cannot record snow.
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24
 Measurement of Precipitation
Floating type recording rain gauge:

• The rain is collected in a float chamber,

• The float moves up which makes a pen to
move on a chart wrapped round a clock
driven drum.
• When the float chamber fills up, the water
siphons out automatically through a
siphon tube kept in an interconnected
siphon chamber.
• The clockwork revolves the drum once in
24 hours.
• The clock mechanism needs rewinding
once in a week when the chart wrapped
round the drum is also replaced. This type
of gauge is used by IMD.
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2. Regional-Radar
• Radar stands for Radio Detection and Ranging.
• The radar signals reflected by the rain are helpful in determining the
magnitude of storm precipitation and its areal distribution.
• A radar sends out signals (electromagnetic waves), some of which are
scattered back towards the transmitter by the target, which in this case
is precipitation, and these returning signals are amplified, measured and
displayed on a screen as radar echoes.
• This method is usually used to supplement data obtained from a
network of rain gauges.
Z=aPb
Z = radar reflectivity
P = precipitation (mm/hr)
a and b are constant.
3. Satellites
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 Location of Rain Gauges
• Rain-gauges must be so located as to avoid exposure to wind
effect or interception by trees or buildings nearby.

• The best location may be an open plane ground like an airport.

• The rainfall records are maintained by one or more of the
following departments:

• Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)

• Public Works Department (PWD)
• Agricultural Department
• Revenue Department
• Forest Department, etc.

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 RAIN-GAUGE DENSITY:
Depends on Storm type:

Cyclonic storms (large areas, low intensities) -small number of gauges is O.K.

Convective storms (local, intense, uneven distribution) -denser network needed.

Convective storms may have seasonal dominance -need to consider this as well.

Orographic rainfall due to mountains (not fronts) -may need denser network than
flatter area.

Area Rain-gauge density

Plains 1 in 520 km2
Elevated regions 1 in 260-390 km2
Hilly and very heavy rainfall areas 1 in 130 Km2

In India, on an average, there is 1 rain-gauge station for every 500 km2, while in
more developed countries, it is 1 station. for 100 km2.

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 Average/ Normal Annual Rainfall
• The mean of yearly rainfall observed for a period of 30 consecutive
years is called the average annual rainfall (AAR).

• The (AAR) of a place depends upon:

• Distance from the ocean
• Direction of prevailing wind
• Mean annual temperature
• Altitude of the place and
• Topography of area

• The ratio of rainfall in a particular year to the AAR is called

Wetness Index
• The rainfall in an year is wet (good), dry (bad) or normal (average)
if the rainfall is greater, less than or equal to AAR.

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 Estimation of Missing Precipitation Data

• For frequency analysis of data, a large record is required

• This situation will arise if data for a rain gauge are missing (e.g.
due to instrument failure).
• Data from surrounding gauges are used to estimate the missing
data.

• For larger areas the average of all the stations located in the area
is taken by the following three methods

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 Estimation of Missing Precipitation Data
(i) Arithmetic mean:
• It is obtained by simply averaging arithmetically the amounts of rainfall at the
individual rain-gauge stations in the area
• Use when normal annual precipitation is within 10% of the gauge for which
data are being reconstructed
• This is fast and simple method and results good estimates when
1. Area is flat,
2. Gauges are uniformly distributed and
3. Rainfall is uniform for all gauge stations

1 n
Pm   Pi
n i1

where:
Pm = precipitation at the missing location
Pi = precipitation at index station I
n = number of rain gauges 31
(ii) The Normal ratio method:
• Normal ratio method (NRM) is used when the normal annual
precipitation at any of the index station differs from that of the
interpolation station by more than 10%.
• In this method, the records of two or more stations are combined
into one long record provided
– station records are independent and
– the areas in which the stations are located are climatologically the
same.
• The missing record at a station in a particular year may be found by
the ratio of averages or by graphical comparison. For example,
• Rainfall of station A is 75 cm and for the neighboring station B, there
is no record. But if the AAR at A and B are 70 cm and 80 cm,
respectively, the missing year’s rainfall at B (say, PB) can be found
by simple proportion as:
75/70=PB/80
• This result may again be checked with reference to another
neighboring station C.
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 (ii) The Normal ratio method:
• In this method, the precipitation amounts at the index stations are
weighted by the ratios of their normal annual precipitation data in a
relationship of the form:

1 n  N m 
Pm   Pi
n i1 Ni 
where:
Pm = precipitation at the missing location
Pi = precipitation at index station I
Nm = average annual rain at ‘missing data’ gauge
Ni = average annual rain at gauge i
n = number of rain gauges
Example 2.1 Rain-gauge station D was inoperative for part of a month during which a storm occurred.
The storm rainfall recorded in the three surrounding stations A, B and C were 8.5, 6.7 and 9.0 cm,
respectively. If the AAR for the stations are 75, 84, 70 and 90 cm, respectively, estimate the storm rainfall
at station D. 33
(iii) Reciprocal Inverse Weighting Factor Approach
P4
Procedure:
• divide area around gauge of interest into
four quadrants; X4 P1
 using records at nearest station in each X1
quadrant -
 compute missing precipitation amount:
X3 X2
1 4 Pi 
Pm  4  
 i 1 X  P2
1 / X i  i  P3
i 1

where:
Pi = rainfall recorded by gauge i
Xi = distance from gauge i to missing data point

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 Consistency of Precipitation Data
A double-mass curve is used to check the consistency of a
rain gauge record:
 compute cumulative rainfall
amounts for suspect gauge and
check gauges
 plot cumulative rainfall amounts
against each other (divergence
from a straight line indicates error)
 multiplying erroneous data after
change by a correction factor k
where:

gradient of line before change

k
gradient of line after change
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Example
The annual rainfall depths recorded by five rain gauges (A, B, C, D, and E) over
a seven year period are tabulated below. Use this information to check the
consistency of rain gauge A.
(i). In what year does gauge A appear to develop a fault?
(ii) Derive and apply correction factor to correct the erroneous data.

Annual rainfall totals (mm)

Year Gauge A Gauge B Gauge C Gauge D Gauge E

1975 1367 1020 1054 1044 1040

1976 1313 960 959 970 982
1977 1333 972 970 980 983
1978 1347 1000 1013 1020 1035
1979 1123 998 1004 1003 1004
1980 1203 1080 1095 1110 1110
1981 1033 1150 1134 1050 1086

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Solution
Cumulate the annual rainfall amounts for gauge A and for the other four
gauges (B, C, D and E). In the case of the latter - the annual rainfall totals for
gauges B, C, D and E have to be averaged before the cumulative annual
rainfall totals are computed. Once this is done, the mass curve can be plotted:

Annual rainfall totals (mm) Cumulative rain (mm)

Mean of gauges Gauges
Year Gauge A Gauge B Gauge C Gauge D Gauge E 1,2,3,4 Gauge X 1,2,3,4

1975 1367 1020 1054 1044 1040 1040 1367 1040

1976 1313 960 959 970 982 968 2680 2008
1977 1333 972 970 980 983 976 4013 2984
1978 1347 1000 1013 1020 1035 1017 5360 4001
1979 1123 998 1004 1003 1004 1002 6483 5003
1980 1203 1080 1095 1110 1110 1099 7686 6102
1981 1033 1150 1134 1050 1086 1105 8719 7207

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 These are then plotted on a double mass curve:

Cumulativ e rainfall (mm) - Gauge X 10000

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
Cumulative rainfall (mm) - Gauges 1 - 4

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(i). If the gauge A record is consistent, the points will fall on one straight line.
Deviation from a straight line indicates an inconsistency. In this case, there
is a distinct change at 1979. The conclusion is that the record for gauge A is
not consistent beyond 1979, and that the annual rainfall amounts for gauge
A from 1979 on require correction.

(ii). To perform the correction, the gradients of the two best fit lines (that is,
1975-79 and 1979-81) and a correction factor, k, (defined as the ratio of the
two) are computed. All the annual rainfall amounts for gauge A from 1979
onwards are corrected by multiplying each by k.

From the uncorrected double mass curves the gradients are found to be:
1975-79 Gradient = (6483-1367) / (5003-1040) = 1.29
1979-81 Gradient = (8719-6483) / (7207-5003) = 1.01

So, k = (1.29 / 1.01) = 1.27

The corrected annual rainfall values for gauge A (shown in bold) and the
corrected cumulative rainfall amounts are shown in the following table:
39
Year Annual depth (mm) Cumulative rain (mm)
Gauge Gauge X Gauge Gauges
X (corrected) X 1,2,3,4

1975 1367 1367 1367 1040

1976 1313 1313 2680 2007
1977 1333 1333 4013 2984
1978 1347 1347 5360 4001
1979 1123 1501 6861 5003
1980 1203 1608 8469 6102
1981 1033 1381 9850 7207

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 Precipitation Analysis
 Areal precipitation estimation

 Depth-area analysis

 Precipitation frequency

 Intensity-duration analysis

 Intensity-duration- frequency analysis

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 Areal Precipitation Estimation

1. Arithmetic mean method

2. Thiessen method
3. Isohyetal method

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 1. Arithmetic Mean Method
The arithmetic mean is the average of the precipitation data collected over
a watershed at different stations located within its boundary. It is
calculated as:

n Pi
P 
i 1 n

where: = average rain over the area (mm)

P
Pi = precipitation depth at gauge i (mm)

n = total number of gauges

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 2. Theissen Method P1

• This method attempts to allow for

non-uniform distribution of gauges P4

by providing a weighting factor

P2 Connecting line
for each gauge.
• Each polygon area is assumed to
be influenced by the rain gauge P3 Perpendicular bisector
to connecting lines
station inside it

• Divide the region (area A) into sub-regions centred about each

rain gauge;
• determine the area of each sub-region (Ai) and compute sub-
region weightings (Wi) using: Wi = Ai/A
• compute total areal rainfall using:
n
P   Wi Pi 44
i 1
 P7
P6

A7
A6
P2

A2
A1
A8 A5
P1
P8 P5
A3 A4
P3

P4
 2. Theissen Method
• This method is more accurate than simple arithmetic mean
method.
• The gauges should be properly located over the catchment to
get regular shaped polygons.
• Limitation of this method is its non-flexibility
• Since a new Thiessen diagram has to be constructed every time
if there is a change in the rain gauge network

46
 3. Isohyetal Method
Potentially most accurate approach, but subjective.

 Plot gauge locations on a map;

 Subjectively interpolate between rain amounts between
gauges at a selected interval;
 Connect points of equal rain depth to produce lines of equal
rainfall amounts (isohyets);
 Ai Pi
 Compute areal rain using: P 
 Ai

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Isohyetal Method
• An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall
magnitude. 10.0
8

D
6 C a5
12
9.2
12
a4
7.0 a3
4 B
7.2
A
a2 E 10.0
9.1
4.0 a1
F
8

6
4
Isohyetal Method

• P1, P2, P3, …. , Pn – the values of the isohytes

• a1, a2, a3, …., a4 – are the inter isohytes area respectively
• A – the total catchment area
• P - the mean precipitation over the catchment

 P1  P2   P2  P3   Pn1  Pn 
a1    a2    ...  a n1  
P   2   2   2 
A
NOTE
The isohyet method is superior to the other two methods
especially when the stations are large in number.
 Examples
Example 2.3 Point rainfalls due to a storm at
several rain-gauge stations in a basin are shown
in Fig. 2.10. Determine the mean areal depth of
rainfall over the basin by the three methods.

50
Example 2: The area shown in Figure is composed of a square plus an equilateral triangular
plot of side 10 km. The annual precipitations at the rain-gauge stations located at the four
corners and center of the square plot and apex of the triangular plot are indicated in figure.
Find the mean precipitation over the area by Thiessen polygon method, and compare with the
arithmetic mean.

Quiz -01, Next

Week

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