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Precipitation
All forms of water that reach the earth from the atmosphere is called Precipitation.
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

The total annual amount of rain falling at a point is the usual basic precipitation figure available.

Intensity: This is a measure of the quantity of rain falling in a given time; for example, mm per
hour.

𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 / 𝐷𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

The rainfall is classified in to

1) Light rain – if intensity is trace to 2.5 mm/h

2) Moderate – if intensity is 2.5 mm/hr to 7.5 mm/hr

3) Heavy rain – above 7.5 mm/hr

Duration: This is the period during which rainfalls.

Frequency: This refers to the expectation that a given depth of rainfall will fall in a given time.

Return Period: is the period at which a specific precipitation will fall again with the same
amount and duration.

 Recurrence Interval = Return Period

Areal Extent: Area over which a point rainfall can be assumed to remain the same

Precipitation Measurement
Three principal methods to measure rainfall:

1. Rain gage
2. Radar
3. Satellite imagery

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Types of Rain gauges

1. Ordinary Rain Gauge

Figure 1 Ordinary Rain Gauge

2. Recording Rain Gauge

a) Tipping Bucket Gauges

Figure 2 Tipping bucket rain gauge

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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b) Digital Tipping Bucket Gauges

c) Siphon Rain Gauges

Figure 3 Siphon rain gauge

Presentation of precipitation data

Hyetograph = Bargraph = Histogram

Hyetograph is a plot of the accumulated precipitation against time, plotted in chronological order

Hyetograph of a storm
Total depth = 10.4 cm
Duration = 48 hr
0.45
0.4
Intensity, cm/hr

0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0–8 8 – 16 16 – 24 24 – 32 32 – 40 40 – 48

Time, hours

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Cumulative Mass Curve (CMC)

Intensity-duration relationship
𝒂
𝒊=
𝒕+𝒃

Where 𝒊 = intensity (mm/h) t = time (h) a and b are locality constants

The world's highest recorded intensities are of the order of 40 mm in a minute.

Intensity-duration-frequency relationships
𝒏 = 𝟏 · 𝟐𝟓𝒕(𝒓 + 𝟎. 𝟏)𝟎·𝟐𝟖𝟐

Where n = number of occurrences in 10 years

r = depth of rain in inches
t= duration of rain in hours.
The SI form of the formula is

𝒏 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝒕(𝒓 + 𝟐. 𝟓𝟒)𝟎·𝟐𝟖𝟐

Where P = depth of rain in mm, and n and t have unchanged units.

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Missing Precipitation data

In order to predict the rainfall at another point, or to supply missing data for a particular station one
may use one of two methods:

Station Average Method ( < 10 % in annual value)

Px = ∑ [Pi] ∕ n (Station Average Method)
If:
│Nx – Ni │ ≤ 0.10 * Nx if no use (Normal Ratio Method)

Normal Ratio Method (> 10 %)

Px = Nx / n * (∑ Pi ∕ ∑ Ni ) (Normal Ratio Method)
Px = precipitation at X station
n: number of stations
Nx: normal annual precipitation amounts at station

Example (2)
Rain gauge at the station X was inoperative for a part of a month during which a storm occurred. The
respective storm totals at three surrounding stations A, B and C, were 107, 89, and 122 mm. The
normal annual precipitation amounts at stations X, A, B and C, are 978, 1120, 935, and 1200 mm
respectively. Estimate the storm precipitation for station X.

Solution/
First, the method should be determined.

If │Nx – Ni│ ≤ 0.10 Nx → the Station Average Method is used, otherwise the Normal Ratio
Method.

Station A

│Nx – NA│ ≤ 0.10 Nx → │978 – 1120│ ≤ 0.10 * 978 → 142 ≤ 97.8 , no, then the Normal
Ratio Method is used.

Station B

│Nx – NB│ ≤ 0.10 Nx → │978 – 935│ ≤ 0.10 * 978 → 43 ≤ 97.8 , yes, then the Station
Average Method is used.

Station C

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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│Nx – NC│ ≤ 0.10 Nx → │978 – 1200│ ≤ 0.10 * 978 → 222 ≤ 97.8 , no, then the Normal
Ratio Method is used.

Px = (Nx / n) * (∑ Pi ∕ ∑ Ni )

Px = (978/3) * [(107/1120) + (89/935) + (122/1200)]

Px = 326 * 0.292 = 95.32 mm

National Weather Service Method

∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑝𝑖 ∗ 𝑤𝑖
𝑝𝑥 =
∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑤1

Example 3
In a river basin a station A was in operative during a storm, while stations B,C,D and E, surrounding
A were in operation, recording 74mm,88mm,71mm and 80mm of monthly rainfall. The coordinates of
the stations is given in the figure below. Estimate the missing monthly rainfall of station A by the
inverse distance method.

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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xi2
Stations Xi Yi xi2 yi2 wi=1/Di Pi(mm) wi*Pi
+yi2=Di
B 9 6 81 36 117 0.0086 74 0.636
C 12 -9 144 81 225 0.0045 88 0.396
D -11 -6 121 36 157 0.0064 71 0.454
E -7 7 49 49 98 0.0103 80 0.824
Sum = 0.0298 2.311

Px = 77.55

Double-mass-curve analysis
A method that is used to check for an inconsistency in a gaged record (Test the other gauges for
errors)

A double-mass curve is a graph of the cumulative catch at the rain gage of interest versus the
cumulative catch of one or more gages in the regions that have been subjected to similar hydro
meteorological occurrences and are known to be consistent

Steps to check and adjust the consistency of rainfall data of a station X

 The doubtful station, say A, is marked and the group of stations surrounding it are identified.
 Determine the cumulative rainfall of the station A
 Sum the data of the neighbouring stations and determine the cumulative
 Plot the sum cumulative rainfall of stations with cumulative station A to determine the double
mass curve

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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 If there is a changing slope in the double-mass curve, adjust it correct the data of station A by
the adjustment factor

Example (4)
The annual precipitation data at rainfall gauge station X, were to be tested for consistency from 1982
through 1997. Data at eight neighboring gauge stations also were obtained and are presented on the
following table. Test the consistency of station X records. If a change in regime is identified, report
the year in which the change occurred. Adjust station X records so that the regime before the break is
maintained for all values.

Annual Average Annual Average Annual

Annual
Rainfall at Rainfall at 8 Rainfall at 8
Year Year Rainfall at X
X Station Neighbouring Neighbouring
Station (mm)
(mm) stations (mm) stations (mm)
1982 350 280 1990 300 260
1983 370 290 1991 310 310
1984 390 310 1992 350 360
1985 350 270 1993 380 390
1986 300 250 1994 400 440
1987 250 210 1995 280 320
1988 200 170 1996 250 300
1989 240 210 1997 210 230
Solution/
The data of station X is not consistent. A change after year 1990 has observed.
After year 1990 all data of station X is multiplied by
Slope 1/Slope 2 [see the plot]
Data of station X after year 1990 * 1.2222/0.9277
For example/
X station data in year 1991 = 310
310 * 1.31747 = 408 mm
The rest of adjusted data are shown in table below:

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Cumulative
Average
Rainfall at Cumulative Average
Rainfall at 8 Adjusted Rainfall
Year X Station Rainfall at X Rainfall at 8
Neighbouring at X Station (mm)
(mm) Station (mm) Neighbouring
stations (mm)
stations (mm)
1982 350 280 350 280 350
1983 370 290 720 570 370
1984 390 310 1110 880 390
1985 350 270 1460 1150 350
1986 300 250 1760 1400 300
1987 250 210 2010 1610 250
1988 200 170 2210 1780 200
1989 240 210 2450 1990 240
1990 300 260 2750 2250 300
1991 310 310 3060 2560 408
1992 350 360 3410 2920 461
1993 380 390 3790 3310 501
1994 400 440 4190 3750 527
1995 280 320 4470 4070 389
1996 250 300 4720 4370 329
1997 210 230 4930 4600 277
Example (5)
In the table below annual rainfalls of gage E, F, G and H are given. Gage H was permanently
relocated after a period of 3 yr (at the end of 1981); thus adjust the recorded values from 1979 through
1981 of gage H using double mass curve assume the data for the other gages are consistent.

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Solution

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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The slope for the 1979-1981 period is

The slope from 1982 to 1986 is

The adjusted values from 1979 through 1981 can be computed using

Mean Areal Precipitation (Averaging precipitation depth over an area)

To convert the point rainfall values at various stations to in to average value over a catchment, the
following methods are used:

1) Arithmetic Mean Method

All rain gauges in the basin are to be used.

1 N
P1  P 2......... Pn
P=
N
 Pi
i 1
P
N
2) Thiessen Polygons Method

All rain gauges are to be used including those outside the basin.

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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 Pi * Ai
i 1 P1 * A1  P 2 * A2........ Pn * An
Or P = P=
A A1  A2  ..... An
3) Isohyets Method

Example (6)
Find the average storm rainfall for a basin of 9.14 Km2 using the Theissen Polygon Method and
Arithmetic Average Method:

Rain gauge Precipitation (mm) Area (km2)

P1* 10 0.22
P2 20 4.02
P3 30 1.35
P4 40 1.60
P5 50 1.95
* The station is outside the basin.

Solution/
Arithmetic Average Method/

All rain gauges in the basin are to be used.

1 N
P1  P 2......... Pn
P=
N
 Pi
i 1
P
N

= (20+30+40+50)/4 = 35 mm mean rainfall in the basin.

Theissen Polygon Method/

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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All rain gauges are to be used including those outside the basin.

 Pi * Ai
i 1 P1 * A1  P 2 * A2........ Pn * An
or P = P=
A A1  A2  ..... An

= [(10*0.22)+(20*4.02)+(30*1.35)+(40*1.60)+(50*1.95)]/9.14

= 31. 14 mm mean rainfall in the basin.

Examples (7)
The area shown in Fig. below 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 centre of the
square plot and apex of the triangular plot are indicated in the figure. Find the mean precipitation over
the area by Thiessen polygon method, and compare with the station average method (arithmetic mean
method)

Solution
The Thiessen polygon is constructed by drawing perpendicular bisectors to the lines joining the rain-
gauge stations as shown in Fig. below. The weighted mean precipitation is computed in the following
table

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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The area of each polygon are

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Exercise (1)
The average annual precipitation for the four sub-basins constituting a large river basin is 73.4, 84.8,
112.3, and 100.8 cm. The areas are 932, 712, 1087, and 1683 km2 respectively. What is the average
annual precipitation for the basin as a whole?

Exercise (2)
An experimental rectangular plot of 10 km x 12 km ha s five rain-gauge stations as shown in the
figure. The storm rainfall and the coordinates of the stations are given in the table.

Stations A B C D E
(x , y) (1,3) (8,11) (3,10) (5,8) (7,5)
Mean annual rainfall (cm) 128 114 136 144 109
Storm rainfall (cm) 12 11.4 13.2 14.6 ?

1) Estimate the missing rainfall amount at station E.

2) Find average rainfall Based on the position of rainfall gauges; construct the Thiessen Polygon
for them.

Exercise (3)
Consider a rainfall event having a 5-minutes cumulative rainfall record given below:

Time (min) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin
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Cum Rainfall
0 7 14 23 34 45 58
(mm)
Time (min) 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Cum Rainfall
70 81 91 100 110 119 125
(mm)
Time (min) 70 75 80 85 90
Cum Rainfall
131 136 140 140 140
(mm)
1- Find the rainfall depth hyetograph (in tabular form) with a 10-min time
interval for the storm event.

2- Find the maximum 10-min and 20-min rainfall intensities (in mm/hr) for
the storm event

Engineering Hydrology Civil Engineering 2nd stage Lecture Two (2) By Dara M. Hawez University of Raparin