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Chapter Two
Introduction
Forms of precipitation
Measurements
Rain - gauge network
Mean precipitation over an area
IDF Relationship



Precipitation
It is all forms of water that
reach the earth from the
atmosphere. The usual forms
are rainfall, snowfall, hail,
frost and dew.
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For precipitation to occur
the atmosphere must have moisture
the products of condensation must reach
the earth
climate conditions must be good for
condensation of water vapor to take place
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Forms of Precipitation
Rain: The term rainfall is used
to describe precipitation in the
form of water drops of sizes
larger than 0.5mm. The
maximum size of a raindrop
is about 6mm. Any drop
larger in size than this tends
to break up into drops of
smaller sizes during its fall
from the clouds. On the basis
of its intensity rainfall is
classified as:
Type Intensity
1. Light rain Trace to 2.5mm/h
2. Moderate rain 2.5mm/h to 7.5mm/h
3. Heavy rain > 7.5mm/h
Snow: Snow consists of ice crystals which usually combine to
form flakes. When new, snow has an initial density varying
from 0.06 to 0.15gm/cm
3
and it is usual to assume an average
density of 0.1gm/cm
3
.
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Forms of Precipitation
Drizzle: It is a fine sprinkle of numerous water droplets of
size less than 0.5mm and intensity less than 1mm/h. In this
the drops are so small that they appear to float in the air.
Glaze: When rain or drizzle comes in contact with cold
ground at around 0
0
C, the water drops freeze to form an ice
coating called glaze or freezing rain.
Sleet: It is frozen raindrops of transparent grains which form
when rainfalls through air at subfreezing temperature. Sleet
in many places denotes precipitation of snow and rain
simultaneously.
Hail: It is a showery precipitation in the form of irregular
pellets or lumps of ice of size more than 8mm. Hails occur in
violent thunderstorms in which vertical currents are very
strong.
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Measurement of Precipitation
magnitude, intensity, location, patterns of
precipitation
quantity of precipitation as well as, the
spatial and temporal distributions of the
precipitation have considerable effects on the
hydrologic response
Measurement by
Rain gauge
RADAR
Satellite
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RADAR Rainfall
Estimates
NEXRAD provides real-time
data
on a ~16 km
2
(6 mi
2
) grid
Equivalent to about 21 rain
gages
in Brays Bayou watershed
Each estimate represents an
average rainfall amount over the
entire 4 x 4 km
2
area
NEXRAD rainfall estimates
compare well with point rain
gage measurements (r
2
~ 0.9)
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Rain gauges
The purpose of a rain gauge is to
measure the amount of rainfall
at a single point

Measure What?

Depth of water on a flat
surface

Depth is assumed to be
same as surrounds
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Rain gauges
With What?
Container of varying dimensions and
heights
SI Standard
127mm diameter (5 inches)
1.2 m height above ground (4 feet)
Requirements
Sharp edge
Rim falls away vertically
Prevent splashing
Narrow neck prevents evaporation
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127mm
305mm
Funnel
Metal Container
Collecting bottle
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Consideration to set rain gauge
The ground must be level and in the open
air and the instrument must be fixed on a
horizontal catch surface.
The gauge must be set as near the ground as
possible to reduce wind effects but it must be
sufficiently high to prevent splashing,
flooding
The instrument must be surrounded by
an open fenced area of at least 5.5m x
5.5m. No object should be nearer to the
instrument less than 30m or twice the
height of the obstruction.

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Non-recording and Recording rain gauges

A non-recording rain gauge is typically a
catchment device calibrated to provide
visual observation of rainfall amounts

Recording gauges are equipped with
paper charts and/or data logger
equipment
Types of Rain gauges
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Non - Recording Rain gauges
Measure with calibrated flask or dipstick
Flask usually tapered to allow accuracy
if little rain
Evaporation losses high
Prevention by
oil film
small exposed surface area
poor ventilation
low internal temperature
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Two types of
standard storage
rain gauges

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Recording Rain gauges
Analogue Devices

Weighing Bucket Rain Gauge
Float Type Rain Gauge

Digital Devices

Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge
Optical Rain Gauge
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Analogue Recording Rain gauges
Weighing Bucket Rain Gauge
Standard instrument used to quantify
rainfall
Spring scale beneath the collecting bucket
platform that is calibrated to mark the
rainfall depth on a paper chart
The chart is rotated by a spring-driven or
electric clock at speeds of 1 revolution in 6, 9,
12, 24, or 192 hours
The rain gauge chart is a record of the
accumulated of rainfall for the selected time
interval
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Digital Recording Rain gauges
Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge
Two containers on balance beam form a tipping
bucket
Rain fills one container until it threshold weight reached
Bucket then tips over, emptying collected water into
total container and continues to collect rainfall in other
container
Magnet generates electric pulse which is recorded
Problems
Evaporation from buckets
Discontinuous record in light rain
Susceptible to freezing
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Digital Recording Rain gauges
Optical Rain Gauge (ORG)
The ORG is mounted on a small pole
The ORG sends a beam of light (which you cannot
see) from one of its ends to a detector at the other
end.
When raindrops fall, they break the beam. The
rain rate is measured by the ORG by measuring
how often the beam is broken.
The rain rate can be used to calculate the total
amount of rain that has fallen in any given period
ORG measures the rate of rainfall in millimeters
per hour (mm/hr).
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Measured Gauge Accuracy
(Un)avoidable Errors
Equipment failure
Observer error
Avoidable Errors
Site
Aspect - parallel to ground
Obstructions
Height - splashing
Surrounds
Wind
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Ideally, the gauge should be sited
with some shelter, but not over-
sheltered.
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Windshields may reduce the
loss due to turbulence (eddies)
around the gauge
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Rain Gauge Network
Precipitation varies both in time and space

Sound hydrologic/hydraulic designs require
adequate estimation of temporal/ spatial
precipitation patterns

The density of rain gauge network depends on

(1) purpose of the study;
(2) geographic configuration of the study region;
(3) economic consideration
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Rain gauge density
A minimum density for precipitation gauge network: (at
least 10% are automatic recording gauges)
I: Flat region of temperature, Mediterranean & tropical zones;
IIa: Mountain region of temperate, Mediterranean & tropical
zones
IIb: Small mountains island with very irregular precipitation
requiring very dense hydrographic network
III: Arid and polar zones
Region Type Range of norms for min
network [km
2
/gauge]
Range of provisional norms in
difficult conditions
[km
2
/gauge]
I 600 900 900 3000
IIa 100 250 250 1,000
IIb 25
III 1500 10,000
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Errors Precipitation Measurement
1. Human Error: scale reading and water
displacement (if a dip stick is used)
2. Instrumental Defect: water to moisten the
gauge; speed at which mechanical devices
work (such as tipping bucket gages); and
inadequate use of wind shield
3. Improper sitting: height above ground of
the gage orifice; exposure angle; and
regionalization techniques
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Adequacy of rain gauge stations
How do we determine the number of
rain gauge station in a catchments?
2
|
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|

\
|
e
=
v
C
N
N Optimal number of
stations
E Allowable degree of error
in the estimate of the mean
rainfall
Cv coefficient of variation of
the rainfall values at the
existing m stations (in percent)
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100
1
=

p
C
m
v
o
( )
1
1
2
1

m
P P
m
i
m
o
Standard deviation
P
i
Precipitation magnitude
in the i
th
station
1 m
o
(

=

m
i
P
m
P
1
1
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Example
A catchments has six rain gauge stations.
In a year, the annual rainfall recorded by
the gauges are as follows:
Station A B C D E F
Rainfall (cm) 82.6 102.9 180.3 110.3 98.8 136.7
For a 10% error in the estimation of the mean
rainfall, calculate the optimum number of
stations in the catchments.
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what r the major parameters of RF?
Rainfall amount: is the depth to which rain water would
stand on a horizontal surface under conditions of no
infiltration, no runoff and no evaporation. It is expressed in
units of depth, viz. mm or cm.
Duration: is the period during which the rainfall occurs. It
has the units of time, viz. seconds, minutes, and hours.
Intensity: is the rate at which rainfall takes place, that is the
amount of rainfall occurring per unit time. It is usually
expressed in units of mm/hr or cm/hr.
Frequency: is the period in years during which a storm of a
given duration and intensity can be expected to happen
again. It is also called as the return period or recurrence
interval.
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- Rainfall Mass Curve: A plot showing the cumulative rainfall
depth over the storm duration




-Rainfall Hyetogragh: A plot of rainfall depth or intensity with
respect to time




- Instantaneous Rainfall Intensity, (slope of the mass curve)


- Average Intensity in (t, t + At) is
how do we present a rain fall data?
t
t P t t P
t
P
i
t
A
A +
=
A
A
=
) ( ) (
dt
dP(t)
i(t) =
Time

Time
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1 2 3 4 5
2
6
10
142
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c
u
m
u
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a
t
e
d

p
r
e
c
i
p
i
t
a
t
i
o
n

(
c
m
)

3
rd
Storm
4
th
Storm
1
st
Storm 2
nd

Storm
Days
Mass curve of rainfall
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Hyetograph of a storm
Time, hours
0
8 16 24 32 40 48 56
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6 R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

I
n
t
e
n
s
i
t
y
,

c
m
/
h

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Mean Precipitation over an Area

Arithmetical Mean Method

=
=
+ + + +
=
N
i
i
n i
P
N N
P P P P
P
1
2 1
1 ...... ... ..........
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Example
Ans. 2.208
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Thiessen Mean Method
( )
n i
n n i i
A A A A
A P A P A P A P
P
+ + + + +
+ + + + +
=
... ...
... ...
2 1
2 2 1 1

=
=
= =
M
i
i
i
M
i
i i
A
A
P
A
A P
1
1
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A
E
A
D
A
B
A
C
A
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A
D
= 0.75ha

A
A
= 0.25ha

A
B
= 0.90ha

A
C
= 0.85ha

A
E
= 0.70ha

Ans: 2.398

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Isohyetal Method
A
p P
A
P P
A
P P
A
P
n n
n
|
.
|

\
|
+
+ +
|
.
|

\
|
+
+
|
.
|

\
|
+
=

2
......
2 2
1
1
3 2
2
2 1
1
Note: the Thiessen and Isohyetal methods give more
accurate information than the simple arithmetic mean.
The isohyets method is superior to the other two
methods especially when the stations are large in
number.
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2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
2.00
1.00
0.50
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10 9.1
E
C
9.2
8
7.2
A
7.0
B
4.0
F
6
4
4
6
8 10
12
12
D
Example
Ans: 8.844cm