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Cornelio Q. Dizon: Institute of Civil Engineering University of The Philippines
Cornelio Q. Dizon: Institute of Civil Engineering University of The Philippines
Precipitation
Cornelio Q. Dizon
Institute of Civil Engineering
University of the Philippines
Precipitation
• The discharge of water out of the atmosphere, generally onto land
or water surface. It is used to designate the quantity of water that
is precipitated and is the primary input quantity to the hydrologic
cycle.
1. Drizzle
- sometimes called mist
- consists of tiny liquid water droplets
- diameters between 0.1 to 0.5 mm
- slow settling rates
- usually falls from low stratus and barely exceeds 1 mm/ hr
2. Rain
- consists of liquid water drops mostly larger than 0.5 mm
- rainfall refers to amounts of liquid precipitation
Light - Rates of fall up to 2.5 mm/hr
Moderate- Rates of fall from 2.6 to 7.6 mm/hr
Heavy- Rates of fall from > 7.6 mm/hr
3 4 1
10
4 4 0
8 5 8 4
6 10 2
6 7 10 0
4 8 11 1
9 11 0
2 10 13 2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Tim e (hrs)
3 4 1
3 4 4 0
5 8 4
6 10 2
2 7 10 0
8 11 1
9 11 0
1
10 13 2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Tim e (hrs)
Problem 1.3
DATE & TIME ACCUMULATED DISCHARGE rainfall rainfall Occurance
RAINFALL intensity interval
5 min interval inches cfs in in/hr interval
1605 0 0
1610 0 0 0 0 1605-1610
1615 0.1 0 0.1 1.2 1610-1615
1620 0.4 0.5 0.3 3.6 1615-1620
1625 0.6 5 0.2 2.4 1620-1625
1630 1.1 22 0.5 6 1625-1630
1635 1.4 60 0.3 3.6 1630-1635
1640 1.6 90 0.2 2.4 1635-1640
1645 1.8 102 0.2 2.4 1640-1645
1650 1.9 111 0.1 1.2 1645-1650
1655 2 119 0.1 1.2 1650-1655
1700 2.2 124 0.2 2.4 1655-1700
1705 2.3 130 0.1 1.2 1700-1705
1710 2.4 134 0.1 1.2 1705-1710
1715 2.5 137 0.1 1.2 1710-1715
1720 2.5 138 0 0 1715-1720
1725 2.6 137 0.1 1.2 1720-1725
1730 2.6 135 0 0 1725-1730
Problem 1.3
Mass Curve
0.8
0.7
Incremental Rainfall (in per 5 min)
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150
Time (min)
Rainfall Depth and Intensity
Running Totals
Cumulative
Time Incremental Rainfall
(min) Rainfall (in) (in) 30 min 1h 2h
0 0
5 0.02 0.02
10 0.34 0.36
15 0.1 0.46
20 0.04 0.5
25 0.19 0.69
30 0.48 1.17 1.17
35 0.5 1.67 1.65
55 0.31 3.15 2.46
60 0.66 3.81 2.64 3.81
115 0.15 8.04 1.82 4.89
120 0.09 8.13 1.4 4.32 8.13
150 0.01 8.41 0.28 1.68 7.24
Depth 0.76 3.07 5.56 8.2
Intensity 9.12364946 6.14 5.56 4.1
Cumulative Rainfall
10
7
Cumulative Rainfall (in.)
5
3.07 in
4 8.2 in
3 30 min
5.56 in
2
1 1 hr
2 hr
0
0 30 60 90 120 150
Time (min.)
Important Rainfall Parameters
• Intensity or rate of precipitation (depth of water per unit time, i.e.
mm/s, cm/min, in/hr, etc).
• Duration of precipitation (in seconds, minutes, hours or days).
• Depth of precipitation expressed as the thickness of a water layer on
the surface (in mm or inches)
• Area of the geographic extent of rainfall (in m2 or km2).
• Frequency of occurrence, usually expressed in return period (10-yr,
50-yr, 100-yr, etc)
( ) where,
n
∑
e
Pi d i
Px = unknown precipitation at x
Px = n
i =1
∑ (1 d i
e
) Pi = precipitation at index station i
di = distance bet station x and index station
i =1
e = power (usually 2)
d i2 = (xi − x x ) + ( yi − y x )
2 2
i=2 d1 i=3
x
i=1
Prob No. 1: The rainfall station at UPLB was inoperative for the
month of August in which storm Juaning, occurred. The respective
storm totals at three surrounding stations, San Pedro, Ambulong,
and Sta. Cruz were 116.4, 130.4, 98.5 mm respectively. The
normal annual precipitation amounts at stations UPLB, San Pedro,
Ambulong, and Sta. Cruz are, 1895.0, 1564.7, 1916.3, and 1788.4
respectively. What is the estimated storm precipitation for UPLB
station?
1 n where,
Pave = ∑ Pi Pave = basin precipitation depth average Pi
n i =1 = precipitation measured at gage i
Station Observed Rainfall n = number of gages
mm
P2 20
P3 30
P4 40
P5 50
140
Ave. Rainfall = 140/4 = 35 mm
2. Thiessen Polygon Method- allows for areally weighting of rainfall
from each gage. Unique for each gage network and does not allow
for orographic effects but is probably the most widely used.
n
where,
∑PA i i Pave = basin precipitation depth average Pi
Pave = i =1
n
= precipitation measured at gage i
∑A
i =1
i
Ai = area represented by gage i
n = number of gages
Procedure:
1. Plot the stations on the map and triangulate or connect nearby pairs
of stations by straight lines which become sides of triangles.
2. Construct perpendicular bisectors of triangular sides which are
concurrent with respect to a triangle.
3. The concurrent perpendicular bisectors comprise the sides of the
Thiessen polygon.
4. The area of each polygon is determined by planimeter, digitizer or
GIS software and is expressed as a percentage of the total area.
Weighted average rainfall for the total are is computed by
multiplying the precipitation at each station by its assigned
percentage of area and totaling.
Station Observed Area Weighted
Rainfall Rainfall
mm km2 mm
P1 10 0.22 2.2
P2 20 4.02 80.4
P3 30 1.35 40.5
P4 40 1.60 64.0
P5 50 1.95 97.5
9.14 284.6
where,
Pave = basin rainfall depth average
n
Pi + Pi +1
∑ Ai Pi = precipitation on isohyte i
= i =1 n
2 Ai = area between isohytes i and i+1
Pave
∑ Ai
i =1
n = number of isohyte intervals
Procedure:
1. Station locations and amounts are plotted on a suitable map.
2. Contours of equal precipitation (isohyets) are drawn.
3. The average precipitation for an area is computed by weighting the
average precipitation between successive isohyets (usually taken as
the average of the two isohyetal values) by the area between
isohyets, totaling these products, and dividing by the total area.
Isohyetal Method