Introduction to

Precipitation

Abebe Gebregiorgis
2.1 Introduction
• All forms of water that reach the earth from
the atmosphere is called Precipitation.
• The usual forms are rainfall, snowfall, frost,
hail, dew. Of all these, the first two contribute
significant amounts of water.
• Rainfall being the predominant form of
precipitation causing stream flow, especially
the flood flow in majority of rivers. Thus, in
this context, rainfall is used synonymously
with precipitation.
 Introduction….
• In nature water is present in three
aggregation states:
– solid: snow and ice;
– liquid: pure water and solutions;
– gaseous: vapors under different grades of
pressure and saturation

• The water exists in the atmosphere in these

three aggregation states.
 TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
The source of almost all our rainfall is the sea.
Evaporation takes place from the oceans and
water vapour is absorbed in the air streams
moving across the sea’s surface. The moisture-
laden air keeps the water vapour absorbed until it
cools to below dew-point temperature when the
vapour is precipitated as rain, or if the temperature
is sufficiently low, as hail or snow. Three general
classifications of rainfall are:
i) CONVECTIVE PRECIPITATION
The cause of the fall in temperature of an air mass may be
due to convection, the warm moist air rising and cooling to
form cloud and subsequently to precipitate rain. Convective
precipitation is typified by the late afternoon thunderstorms
that develop from day long heating of air, rising into towering
anvil-shaped clouds.
ii) OROGRAPHIC PRECIPITATION
Orographic precipitation results from ocean air streams
passing over land and being deflected upward by coastal
mountains, thus cooling below saturation temperature and
spilling moisture. Most Orographic rain is deposited on the
windward slopes.
• iii) CYCLONIC AND FRONTAL
PRECIPITATION
• Air masses move from high pressure
regions to low pressure regions. Pressure
differences are created by the unequal
heating of the earth’s surface.
Classification of cyclonic precipitation is as
follows:
• a) Non frontal precipitation- air is lifted
over through horizontal convergence of
inflow into a low-pressure area.
• b) Frontal precipitation
 Warm air is lifted over cold air at the contact zone between air masses
having different characteristics
warm front-warm air replaces colder air (air masses are moving)
cold front-cold air displaces warm air
stationary front-the front is not moving
 Introduction….
• Types of precipitation
– Rain, snow, hail, drizzle, glaze, sleet

• Rain:
– Is precipitation in the form of water drops of size
larger than 0.5 mm to 6mm
– The rainfall is classified in to
• Light rain – if intensity is trace to 2.5 mm/h
• Moderate – if intensity is 2.5 mm/hr to 7.5 mm/hr
• Heavy rain – above 7.5 mm/hr
iii) Glaze
• Is the ice coating, generally clear and smooth,
formed on exposed surfaces by the freezing of
supercooled water deposited by rain or drizzle.
Its specific gravity may be as high as 0.8 to 0.9.
iv) Rime
• Is a white, opaque deposit of ice granules more
or less separated by trapped air and formed by
rapid freezing of supercooled water drops
impinging on exposed objects. Specific gravity
may be as low as 0.2 to 0.3mm.
 Introduction….
• Snow:
– Snow is formed from ice crystal masses, which
usually combine to form flakes
• Hail (violent thunderstorm)
– precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps
usually consisting of concentric layers of clear
ice and compact snow.
– Hail varies from 0.5 to 5 cm in diameter and can
be damaging crops and small buildings.
2.2 Temporal and Spatial Variation of Rainfall

• 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)
 Temporal Variation of rainfall at a particular site

Total Rainfall amount = 6.17 cm

14
Rainfall Intensity, cm/hr

12

10

8
6

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
Annual Precipitation
average precipitation
2.3. Measurement of Rainfall

• 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 raingauge.
 Rainfall measurement…

Precipitation gauge
1 - pole
2 - collector
3 - support- galvanized
metal sheet
4 – funnel
5 - steel ring

1. Non recording gauge

Typical rain gauge dimensions
 2. Recording gauge / graphic raingauge
• The instrument records the graphical
variation of the fallen precipitation, the total
fallen quantity in a certain time interval and
the intensity of the rainfall (mm/hour).
• It allows continuous measurement of the
rainfall.
The graphic rain gauge
1-receiver
2-floater
3-siphon
4-recording needle
5-drum with diagram
6-clock mechanism
Tipping -bucket rain gauge
 3. Tele-rain gauge with tilting baskets
• The tele-rain gauge is used to transmit
measurements of precipitation through
electric or radio signals.
• The sensor device consists of a system with
two tilting baskets, which fill alternatively with
water from the collecting funnel, establishing
the electric contact.
• The number of tilting is proportional to the
quantity of precipitation hp
Tele-rain gauge ……

The tele-rain-gauge

1 - collecting funnel
2 - tilting baskets
3 - electric signal
4 - evacuation
Weighing - type gauge
 4. Radar measurement of rainfall

• The meteorological radar is the powerful instrument

for measuring the area extent, location and
movement of rainstorm.
• The amount of rainfall overlarge area can be
determined through the radar with a good degree of
accuracy
• The radar emits a regular succession of pulse of
electromagnetic radiation in a narrow beam so that
when the raindrops intercept a radar beam, its
intensity can easily be known.
Raingauge Network
• Since the catching area of the raingauge is
very small as compared to the areal extent
of the storm, to get representative picture of
a storm over a catchment the number of
raingauges should be as large as possible,
i.e. the catchment area per gauge should
be small.
• There are several factors to be considered
to restrict the number of gauge:
– Like economic considerations to a large extent
– Topographic & accessibility to some extent.
 Raingauge Network…..

• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

recommendation:
– In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical
zones
• Ideal  1 station for 600 – 900 km2
• Acceptable 1 station for 900 – 3000 km2
– In mountainous regions of temperate , Mediterranean and
tropical zones
• Ideal  1 station for 100 – 250 km2
• Acceptable  1 station for 250 – 1000 km2
– In arid and polar zone
• 1 station for 1500 – 10,000 km2
• 10 % of the raingauges should be self recording to
know the intensity of the rainfall
 2.4 Preparation of Data
• Before using rainfall data, it is necessary to check
the data for continuing and consistency
– Missing data
– Record errors

Estimation of Missing Data

• Given annual precipitation values – P1, P2, P3,… Pm at
neighboring M stations of station X 1, 2, 3 & m respectively
• The normal annual precipitation given by N1, N2, N3,…, Nm,
Ni… (including station X)
• To find the missing precipitation, Px , of station X
Nx  P1 P2 Pm 
Px     ...  
M  N1 N 2 Nm 
 Test for consistency record
(Double mass curve techniques)

• Let a group of 5 to 10 base stations in the neighbourhood of

the problem station X is selected
• Arrange the data of X stn rainfall and the average of the
neighbouring stations in reverse chronological order (from
recent to old record)
• Accumulate the precipitation of station X  Px  and the
average values of the group base stations  Pavg  starting
from the latest record.
• Plot the  Px  against  Pavg  as shown on the next figure
• A decided break in the slope of the resulting plot is observed
that indicates a change in precipitation regime of station X, i.e
inconsistency.
• Therefore, is should be corrected by the factor shon on the
next slide
 Double Mass Curve Analysis Test for consistency record….

5
accumulated annual rainfall of X stn in 10^3 cm

4.5

3.5
Mc c
3
c
a

2.5 Ma a
2

1.5

0.5

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Accumulated annual rainfall of neigbouring stns in 10^3 cm

Pcx – corrected precipitation at any time period t1 at stationX

M
Pcx  Px c P – Original recorded precp. at time period t at station X
x 1

M a
Mc – corrected slope of the double mass curve
Ma – original slope of the mass curve
 Example
• Annual precipitation at rain gauge A is given
plus the average of 12 stations in the
surrounding area Table 2 ( c ). Has there
been any significant changes in the data at A.
if so when
Table 2 (c)
Year GAUGE A (mm) 12 Stations (mm)

1974 604 560

1975 640 624
1976 874 604
1977 640 564
1978 592 502
1979 346 468
1980 482 462
1981 590 664
1982 448 564
 12 Cumulativ
GAUGE Cumulativ
Year Station e for 12
A (mm) e for A
s (mm) stations
1974 604 560 604 560
1975 640 624 1244 1184
1976 874 604 2118 1788
1977 640 564 2758 2352
1978 592 502 3350 2854
1979 346 468 3696 3322
1980 482 462 4178 3784
1981 590 664 4768 4448
1982 448 564 5216 5012
2.5 Mean Precipitation over an area

• Raingauges rainfall represent only point sampling

of the areal distribution of a storm
• The important rainfall for hydrological analysis is a
rainfall over an area, such as over the catchment
• To convert the point rainfall values at various
stations to in to average value over a catchment,
the following methods are used:
– arithmetic mean
– the method of the Thiessen polygons
– the isohyets method
Arithmetic Mean Method

• When the area is physically and climatically

homogenous and the required accuracy is small,
the average rainfall ( P ) for a basin can be
obtained as the arithmetic mean of the hi values
recorded at various stations.
• Applicable rarely for practical purpose

P1  P2  .....  Pi  .....Pn 1 N
P 
N

N
P
i 1
i
Method of Thiessen polygons

• The method of Thiessen polygons consists of

attributing to each station an influence zone in
which it is considered that the rainfall is equivalent
to that of the station.
• The influence zones are represented by convex
polygons.
• These polygons are obtained using the mediators
of the segments which link each station to the
closest neighbouring stations
Thiessen polygons ……….
 Thiessen polygons ……….

P7
P6

A7
A6
P2

A2
A1
A8 A5
P1
P8 P5
A3 A4
P3

P4
 Thiessen polygons ……….

P1 A1  P2 A2  .....  Pm Am
P 
 A1  A2  .....  Am 
Generally for M station
M

PA i i M
Ai
P  i 1
Atotal
 
i 1
Pi
A

Ai
The ratio is called the weightage factor of station i
A
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    ...  an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.
2.6 Intensity – Duration – Frequency (IDF) Relationship
Mass Curve of Rainfall

Mass curve of rainfall

accumulated precipitation, mm

60

50

40

30 1st storm,
16 mm
20 2nd storm,
16 mm
10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time, hour
Hyetograph IDF ….
- is a plot of the accumulated precipitation against time, plotted in
chronological order

Hyetograph of a storm
Total depth = 10.6 cm
0.5 Duration = 46 hr
Intensity, cm/hr

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0–8 8 – 16 16 – 24 24 – 32 32 – 40 40 – 48
Time, hours
EXAMPLE
One of four monthly-read rain gauges on a catchment area develops a fault in a month
when the other three gauges record 22, 25 and 30 mm respectively. If the average
annual precipitation amounts of these three gauges are 736, 752 and 840 mm,
respectively and of the broken gauge 694 mm, estimate the missing monthly precipitation
at the latter