Chapter 2 - Precipitation (Part 1)

1. The term precipitation refers to all forms of water that reach the earth from
the atmosphere. They can be rainfall (liquid), snowfall, sleet and hail (solid),
frost, dew and mist (gaseous).

2. - Only rainfall contribute significantly to streamflow and flood flow.

- Rain can be categorised into light rain (2.5mm/hour), moderate rain (2.5-
7.5 mm/hr) and heavy rain ( >7.5mm/hr)

3. Heat caused water to become vapor, rises up into the atmosphere where it is
cooler. Slowly water vapor condenses around nuclei, which is salt particles
or product of combustion, forming into liquid (droplets size ~0.1mm) and fall
to the ground as rain. The magnitude of precipitation varies with time and
space (temporal and spatial). This variation is responsible for many
hydrological problems, such as floods and draughts, and makes prediction of
them difficult.

4. A front is the interface between two distinct air masses. When a warm air
mass and cold air mass meet, the warmer air mass is lifted over colder mass,
and a front was formed. The warmer air become cooler, forms cloud and fall
as precipitation.
5. -A cyclone is a large low-pressure region with circular wind motion and can
be 100-200 km in diameter.
- It is called cyclone in India, hurricane in USA, and typhoon in South East
Asia.
- The center is called the eye and it is calm, but outside of it, wind speed can
reach 200 kmph.
- Figure below from the book show the wind speed, rainfall intensity and
pressure inside a cyclone/ hurricane/typhoon.
Note the sizes in diameter of a cyclone can be hundreds of kilometer.
6. Precipitation/ Rainfall
- It vary greatly in space and time
- It can be represented by isohyetal maps with isohyets as contour of
constant rainfall
- Isohyetal maps are prepared by interpolating rainfall data recorded at gaged
points.

7. - Precipitation is expressed in terms of the depth of which rainfall water

would
stand on an area if all the rain were collected on it.
- Thus 1 cm of rain over a catchment of 1 km2 represent a volume of water
of
10,000 m3 (1cm x 1m/100cm x 1,000,000 m2/km2 = 10,000 m3)

8. The precipitation is collected and measured using raingage/ raingauge.

These rain gages can be:
a. Non-recording rain gages.
b. Recording rain gages
c. Telemetering Rain Gages
d. Radar measurement of rainfall
9. The record from rain gages consist of a set of rainfall depth recorded for
successive increments in time. From this record we can plot isohyetal maps,
rainfall hyetograph, and rainfall mass curve.

10. We established rainfall station to obtain truly representative sample of

rainfall over the area that the station cover. To obtain this, we need to:
a. Select correct type of equipment
b. Set station according to regulations
c. Check stations regularly for damage
d. Wind shield was used to overcome the effect of wind on rainfall
measurement.

11. Non-Recording raingage Simple raingage.

a. Consist of plastic funnel, inner tube and outer can.

b. Need to take reading at 8 a.m. every day and then empty the gage manually
each day.
c. If you miss one reading, you get a cumulative total of two days and no way to
figure out what the previous day reading was.

A see-through rain gage below allows you to record rain data every day without
removing the water inside. Have to know evaporation rate.
12. Recording raingage can be of many types.

a. Tipping Bucket Type

- Is the most popular type of recording raingage
- The catch from the funnel falls onto one of a pair of small buckets. When
0.25m of rainfall accumulated in a bucket, it tips over and bring the other
one into position.
- The tipping actuates an electrically driven pen to trace a record on the
chart.

- In later version of Tipping Bucket raingage, the device recorded how many
times the button tipped over, translates it into the amount of rain. Note that
this device does not store water compared to a simple rain gage.

- Is it more accurate or less accurate? Is it better? What is the reason for that?

It is more accurate because the data was instantly recorded. Stored water over a
day will experience large amount evaporation and thus the rainfall data recorded
will not be accurate. Not needing to store water allow for rain gage to be small and
compact, not bulky.
- A more advanced version of Tipping Bucket rain gage is as below. It
allow for storage of up to one year of rainfall data. Is it advisable to
check the data once a year? Why is that so?

It is not advisable to store rainfall data over very long period without
periodic checking. This is because if the device was damaged, then
rainfall data will be unknown for a long period. Periodic checking is
better.

Self-Contained Automatic Logging Rain Gauge : This unit can be placed anywhere, and
log rainfall data for up to a year using the self-contained data logger. Simply plug the
data logger into the USB port of your Windows PC to download, graph, and export
the data using the software provided.
MadgeTech Rain101A Rainfall Data Logging System, with Tipping Bucket Rain Gage, Data
Logger, Water Resistant Enclosure, and IFC200 Interface Cable and Software Kit

- Note that the graph of rainfall data is the amount of rainfall per
unit time (rainfall
intensity eg. mm/day or mm/min or mm/hour)

- It can be amount of rainfall for every day for basic rain gage, or
it can be every 1
 minute if it is using tipping bucket rain gage.
b. Weighing Bucket Type
-The catch from the funnel empties into a bucket mounted on a weighing
scale.
- The weight of the bucket and its content are recorded on a clockwork
driven
chart. It can record for as long as one week.
c. Natural Syphon Type
- The rainfall collected by a funnel shaped collector is led into a float
chamber
causing the float to rise.
- A pen attached to a float record the elevation.
- When the float reached preset maximum level, the float chamber is
emptied
- The typical chart for Natural Syphon Type raingage is shown below. It
show
a rainfall of 53.8mm in 30 hours.
 The act of a syphon

d. Telemetering Raingage (Telemetry- Transmit to long distance station)

- These raingages contains electronic units to transmit the data of rainfall to a
base station at regular interval.
- Telemetering gages are important in gathering data for what area ?
Answer:
i. important basin like KL area,
ii. frequently flooded area,
iii. Mountainous and inaccessible area
e. Radar measurement of rainfall
- The meteorological radar is a powerful instrument for measuring the areal
extent, location and movement of rain storm.
- Radar can also determine the amounts of rainfall over large area
Such is the technology that existed today. There is radar that can calculate how
much rain will fall at what place and how much flow in the river will be.

Where do you think this information will be valuable ?

Early warning system can help reduce lost of life in frequent severely flooded area.

13. Certain rules must be followed while setting up rainfall stations to eliminate
errors (DIDs regulation):
a. The stations should be on level ground (not hilly slopes) to avoid air
currents
b. The gage must be on a post, the mouth is 1.35m above ground, avoid
splashing)
c. The gage must be at a distance of 4 times the height of object around
it.(The book say no object should be nearer the gage than 30m, or twice
the height of the obstruction)
d. The rain gage must be equipped with wind shield
e. Fence must be built around the station to protect from interference from
animal/people.

14. Raingage Networks

- The catching area of a raingage is very small compared to the areal extent
of a storm.
- To get representative picture of a storm over a catchment, we need a
certain number of raingage.
- Too large a number is not economical
- To small a number might give a wrong representation of a storm.
- There is an equation to calculate optimum number of raingage in an area
-World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) recommended the following
densities

a. In flat region of temperate, mediterranean and tropical zone

i. Ideal 1 station for 600 900 km2 (30km x 30km)
ii. Acceptable 1 station for 900 3000km2 (55km x 55km)
 b. In mountainous regions of temperate, mediterranean and tropical zone
i. Ideal 1 station for 100 250 km2 (15km x 15km)
ii. Acceptable 1 station for 250 1000km2 (31km x 31km)
(note the distance between raingage is smaller on mountainous area. Why ?)

Cloud with water vapor go up the mountain, become denser and comes down as
rain. Thus the variation in rainfall values over mountainous area is higher. Need
more rain gages

c. 10% of raingage should be equipped with self-recording gages to know

the intensities of rainfall (not simple raingage)

15. The equation to calculate optimum number of raingage is on page 30 of

Subramanyas book
N = ( Cv/ )2 N = Optimal number of stations
Cv = Coefficients of variations
= Allowable degree of error
16. Example 2.1 Page 31 (Subramanya)
16a Example 2.1a (Exercise in class)
Solve for Example 2.1 again, but this time, without station C
(compare with the answer for example 2.1. What can you conclude?

A catchment has five raingauge stations. In a year, the annual rainfall recorded by the gauge are
as follows:

Station A B D E F
Rainfall (cm) 82.6 102.9 110.3 98.8 136.7

a) Determine the standard error in the estimation of mean rainfall in the existing set of raingauge.
b) For a 10% error in the estimation of the mean rainfall, calculate the optimum number of
raingauge stations in the catchment.
17. An example of Isohyetal Map of Malaysia
18. Preparation of Data Before using rainfall data, we must check it for
continuity and consistency. We must do pre-cleaning of data
a. Estimation of missing data for estimation of missing rainfall data, the neighbouring
stations data are used.
b. If variation in annual precipitation is within 10%, use single arithmetic method where:
Px = 1/M [P1 + P2 + P3 + . Pm]
c. If variation in annual precipitation is high, use Normal Ratio Methods.
Px = Nx / M [P1/N1 + P2/N2 + .. + Pm/Nm]
Nx = normal annual precipitation at station X
d. Example 2.2
18a. Example 2.2a (Exercise in class)
The normal annual rainfall at station A, B, C and D in a basin are 90.97, 77.59, 86.28 and
100.00 cm respectively. In the year 1985, the station D was inoperative and the station A,
B, C recorded annusl precipitation of 101,11, 82.23 and 89.89 cm respectively. Estimate
the rainfall at station D in that year
19. Test consistency of record
-Sometimes there is inconsistency of rainfall data, and the reasons are:
a. Shifting of rain gage to new location
b. Area around station undergoing a marked change
c. Change to ecosystem due to calamities like forest fires, landslides etc.
d. Occurrence of observational error.
- We check consistency of record by double-mass curve technique.

- From the Double-mass curve above, we can see that inconsistency started in
Year 1963. We correct it by multiplying with a factor, so that it become a
straight line.

Pcx = (Px) (Correction Ratio) = Px Mc/ Ma = (Px)(c/ a) note: Mc = Y/ X = c / X

20. Example 2.3

A set of data is given in Table 2.3. Test the consistency of the annual rainfall
data of station M and correct the record if there is any discrepancy. Estimate
the mean annual precipitation at station M.
Data is sorted in descending order, which is from year 1979 to year
1950.Cumulative value of station M (Pm) is calculated and shown in column 3
below. Cumulative value of 10 neighboring stations were also calculated (P av)
and shown in column 5 below.
The data is then plotted Pm versus Pav , and a double mass curve is produced.
It is shown in Figure 2.8 below.

- From the graph, the break of grade occurred in year 1965.

- The slope of best straight line for year 1979-1969 is Mc = 1.0295.
- The slope of best straight line for year 1968-1950 is Ma=0.8779.
- The correction ratio is Mc / Ma = 1.0295/0.8779 = 1.173
- Each data from pre 1979 is multiplied with value of 1.173. The answer is shown in column 6
and 7 below.
21. Presentation of Rainfall Data

i. Mass Curve is a plot of accumulated precipitation against time

It is useful in extracting information on duration and magnitude of a storm (the flat line
means no rainfall). Note the 1st storm and 2nd storm shown below

ii. Hyetograph is a plot of the intensity of rainfall against the time interval. It is derived
from Mass Curve and is represented as a bar chart, shown below.

iii. Point Rainfall refers to rainfall data of a station. The data can be listed as daily,
weekly, monthly etc.

iv. Moving Average is a technique for smoothening out the high frequency fluctuations of a
time series to enable a trend to be noticed.
22. Example 2.4:
Annual rainfall recorded at station M for the period of 1950 to 1979 is given in Example 2.3
below.
i. Represent this data as a bar diagram with time in chronological order.
ii. Identify those years in which the annual rainfall is less than 20% of the mean.
iii. Identify those years which annual rainfall is more than the mean.
iv. Plot the three year moving mean of the annual rainfall time series.

Answer:
a. Calculate the mean which is total of all rainfall divided by amount of year
Mean = 1/30(676 + 578 + 95 + 462 +.+ 612) = 17060/30 = 568.7
b. Calculate for less 20% of mean = 0.8 (mean) = 0.8 (568.7) = 454.96
c. Plot the Bar Diagram with time, and add the line of mean, the line of less 20% of mean. It
will look like below.
 d. From the bar chart, we can tell the years where annual rainfall is more than the mean. The
years are 1950, 1951, 1955, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1978.
e. We can also see the years where annual rainfall is lower than the less than 20% of mean.
f. Calculation of three year moving mean is shown in column 3 and column 4 below

g. We can then plot the 3 year moving mean curve. It look like this. Note that the curve
start in year 1978. No apparent trend can be seen from the plot.

23. Mean Precipitation over an Area

- Rain gage represent only point sampling of areal distribution of a storm. For calculation of
volume of surface runoff (discharge), we need to convert point rainfall values at various stations
into average value over the whole catchment. This is called Mean-Areal-Rainfall.

- We can calculate Mean-Areal-Rainfall using 3 methods

i. Arithmetic Mean Method it is summation of all rainfall data from stations located in
that watershed
divided by the number of stations

ii. Thiessen Polygon Method

- This method give weightage on the basis on an area closest to the rainfall station.
- Method to draw the polygon is:
1. Draw dotted lines between a stations with surrounding stations
2. Mark the middle point of each dotted lines.
3. Draw a perpendicular lines (90 degree) at each middle marks above.
4. Draw bold lines to produce the polygons
- An example of a drawn Thiessen Polygon is as below

- The Mean-Areal-Rainfall can be calculated using equation below

- Lets do one exercise of drawing the Thiessen Polygon on the Figure given below. After
that calculate Mean-Areal-Rainfall
iii. Isohyetal Method

- An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall magnitude.

- The isohyets are drawn by considering point rainfall as guides and interpolating between
them. It is similar to drawing elevation contours for Topography map.
- The area between two adjacent isohyets are then determined using planimeter.
- The isohyets for the catchment is as below. Calculate Mean-Areal-Rainfall

- The equation to calculate average rainfall for the whole catchment is

24. Calculating Mean Rainfall of a catchment / Average Rainfall / Mean-Areal-

Rainfall

- Lets do Example 2.5. The catchment area and the recorded rainfall at all stations in the
month of August 2011 are given below. Determine the average depth of rainfall for the
basin for August 2011 using Arithmetic Method and Thiessen Polygon Method
- The Solution
i. Arithmetic Mean consider only rain gages located in the basin, which is station 1, 2, 4

Mean Monthly Rainfall = 1/3 (121 + 124 + 126) = 127 cm

ii. Thiessen Polygon Method calculation shown in table below

- Lets use Isohyetal Method and solve Example 2.7

- The calculation is shown in the table below

25.Depth-Area-Duration Relationship
- The areal distribution characteristic of a storm of given duration is reflected in its depth-
area relationship
- For a rainfall of a given duration, the average depth decreases with the area in an
exponential pattern.

( To be continued in Part 2)
Exercises:
1. Draw the isohyetal lines on the figure below. Given are the coordinates
of the rainfall stations and the rainfall values recorded at the stations

2. a)Estimate the Mean-Areal-Rainfall for the area shown below using

Arithmetic Method
b) Draw the Thiessen Polygon on the figure below.