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.

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

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 nonfrontal 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.

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
6

Low Pressure
High
Pressure

High
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

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.

10

Orographic
11

Forms of Precipitation
1.
2.

Drizzle: A light steady rain in fine drops (0.5 mm) and intensity <1 mm/hr
Rain: The condensed water vapor of the atmosphere falling in drops (>0.5
mm, maximum size6 mm) from the clouds.
3. Glaze: Freezing of drizzle or rain when they come in contact with cold
objects.
4. Sleet: Frozen rain drops while falling through air at subfreezing temperature.
5. Snow: Ice crystals resulting from sublimation (i.e., water vapour condenses
to ice)
6. Snow flakes ice crystals fused together.
7. 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.
8. Dew: Moisture condensed from the atmosphere in small drops upon cool
surfaces.
9. Frost: A feathery deposit of ice formed on the ground or on the surface of
exposed objects by dew or water vapour that has frozen
10. Fog: a thin cloud of varying size formed at the surface of the earth by
condensation of atmospheric vapour (interfering with visibility)
12
11. Mist: a very thin fog

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)

13

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.
14

Temporal Variation of rainfall at a particular site

Rainfall Intensity, cm/hr

Total Rainfall amount = 6.17 cm

14
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

Annual rainfall, mm

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996
Years

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Annual Precipitation
average precipitation

15

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.
16

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.
17

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

18

19

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

20

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.

21

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.

22

23

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.
24

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
25

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.

26

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
Plains
Elevated regions
Hilly and very heavy rainfall areas

Rain-gauge density
1 in 520 km2
1 in 260-390 km2
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.
27

Average 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.
28

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.
Point rainfall:
Rainfall at a single point
For area less than 50km2, point rainfall is taken as average
rainfall
For larger areas the average of all the stations located in the area
is taken by the following three methods

29

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

where:
Pm =
Pi =
n =

1 n
Pm Pi
n i1

precipitation at the missing location

precipitation at index station I
number of rain gauges

30

(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 years 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.
31

(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 i1 Ni
where:
Pm
Pi
Nm
Ni
n

=
=
=
=
=

precipitation at the missing location

precipitation at index station I
average annual rain at missing data gauge
average annual rain at gauge i
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.
32

(iii)

Reciprocal Inverse Weighting Factor Approach

P4

Procedure:
divide area around gauge of interest into
four quadrants;
using records at nearest station in each
quadrant compute missing precipitation amount:

4 Pi

Pm 4
i 1 X
i
1 / X i
1

i 1

X4

P1
X1

X3

P3

X2
P2

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

33

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
34

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

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981

Gauge A

1367
1313
1333
1347
1123
1203
1033

Gauge B

1020
960
972
1000
998
1080
1150

Gauge C

1054
959
970
1013
1004
1095
1134

Gauge D

1044
970
980
1020
1003
1110
1050

Gauge E

1040
982
983
1035
1004
1110
1086
35

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)

Year

Gauge A

Gauge B

Gauge C

Gauge D

Gauge E

Mean of gauges
1,2,3,4

Gauge X

Gauges
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

36

Cumulativ e rainfall (mm) - Gauge X

These are then plotted on a double mass curve:

10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Cumulative rainfall (mm) - Gauges 1 - 4

37

(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:
38

Year

Annual depth (mm)

Gauge
Gauge X
X
(corrected)

Cumulative rain (mm)

Gauge
Gauges
X
1,2,3,4

1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981

1367
1313
1333
1347
1123
1203
1033

1367
2680
4013
5360
6861
8469
9850

1367
1313
1333
1347
1501
1608
1381

1040
2007
2984
4001
5003
6102
7207

39

Precipitation Analysis
Areal precipitation estimation
Depth-area analysis
Precipitation frequency
Intensity-duration analysis
Intensity-duration- frequency analysis

40

Areal Precipitation Estimation

1. Arithmetic mean method

2. Thiessen method
3. Isohyetal method

41

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:

Pi
P
i 1 n
n

where:

average rain over the area (mm)

Pi

precipitation depth at gauge i (mm)

total number of gauges

42

2. Theissen Method
This method attempts to allow for
non-uniform distribution of gauges
by providing a weighting factor
for each gauge.
Each polygon area is assumed to
be influenced by the rain gauge
station inside it

P1

P4

P2

P3

Connecting line

Perpendicular bisector
to connecting lines

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

rain gauge;
determine the area of each sub-region (Ai) and compute subregion weightings (Wi) using: Wi = Ai/A
compute total areal rainfall using:
n

P Wi Pi
i 1

43

P7

P6

A7
A6

P2
A2

A1

A8

P1

P8

A5
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

45

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);
Compute areal rain using:

Ai Pi
Ai

46

Isohyetal Method

An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall

10.0
magnitude.
8
6

D
a5
12

C
9.2

12
a4

a3

7.0

7.2
A
a2
4.0
F

E
9.1

a1
8
4

10.0

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

P2 P3
Pn1 Pn
P1 P2
a1
... an1

a2
2
2
2

P
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.

49

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.

50