NCE 424

HYDROLOGY

PART 3:
PRECIPITATION
DELIVERED BY:

ENGR. HADJI PEEJAY ARANDA

FACULTY – CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST - CALOOCAN
WHAT IS
PRECIPITATION
●
Precipitation is considered to be the primary input in
the hydrologic cycle
●
It is also part of hydraulic moisture that reaches the
surface of the earth in many forms
●
Precipitation can fall to earth in many forms depending
on the atmospheric conditions. The following are forms
of precipitations:
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

RAINFALL

When precipitation fall as

droplet of liquid it is called
rain.

This is also the most

common form of
precipitation
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

SNOW

This is a form of precipitation

where it falls as ice crystal
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

SLEET

This is a form of precipitation where rain and snow

fall together
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

HAIL

This is a form of precipitation which falls as a solid

chunk of ice
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

DEW

Also known as “HAMOG”. In this

form of precipitation, water vapor
condenses on surface of plants and
other objects.
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

GLAZE

Glaze is a form of rainfall

in which precipitation
freezes on the surface
upon contact
FORMS OF
PRECIPITATION

DRIZZLE

Is a form of precipitation
in which the water droplet
has a diameter of 0.5mm
or smaller.

It is also known as
“Ambon”
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
BY FORMATION
CONVECTIONAL RAINFALL

Rainfall forms by rising water vapor which is then cooled

in the atmosphere until it coalesce and fall as
precipitation
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
BY FORMATION
OROGRAPHIC RAINFALL

This process occurs when large masses of clouds and

water vapor coalesce on one side of the mountain
because of winds pushing it
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
BY FORMATION
CYCLONIC RAINFALL

Rainfall forms when two large masses of air collides

TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
BY FORMATION
CYCLONIC RAINFALL
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
●
Since precipitation is an important component of the
water cycle, its measurement is very important to
engineers
●
In this country, the lead agency that measures and
interprete rainfall is PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric
Geophysical And Space Administration) followed by
NIA (National Irrigation Administration) and BSWM
(Bureau of Soil and Water Management)
●
Rainfall is measured using
– Rain Gauges
– Radars
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
BY FORMATION
RAIN GAUGES
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
●
Rain gauges can be both
– Recording
– Non recording
●
Recording rain gauges are classified as follows:
– Tipping Bucket
– Weighing Bucket
– Siphon Float
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
RAIN GAUGES

Non Recording Rain

Gauge
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
RAIN GAUGES

Recording Rain Gauge

Tipping Bucket
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
RAIN GAUGES

Recording Rain Gauge

Weighing Bucket
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION
RAIN GAUGES

Recording Rain Gauge

Siphon Float
LOCATION OF RAIN
GAUGE
●
The ideal location of rain gauges must satisfy the
following:
– The site must be at level ground
– The horizontal distance between the two stations
must be at least twice the height of the gauge
above ground

2H
H

– The site should be in open space

– The site should not be in a continuous wind
zone
LOCATION OF RAIN
GAUGE
– Other meteorological instruments must also follow
the second rule: (horizontal distance is twice the
height)
– The site must be easily accessible
– 10% of the total number of rain gauges present in
the basin must be recording rain gauges
●
Mistakes are also made during rainfall measurements.
Common causes of errors are as follows:
– Mistakes in recording
– Instrumentation error
– Initial loss in wetting of the gauge (0.25mm)
to be added if the rain gauge is dry
LOCATION OF RAIN
GAUGE
– Error due to raindrop splash
– Evaporation at the rain gauge
– Loss of 1.5% if the rain gauge is inclined by more
than 100
 ADEQUACY OF RAIN
GAUGES
●
It must remembered that the network or rain gauges
must be placed with an area known as watershed or
drainage basin.
●
The watershed is an area in which the surface water
flows out in a single point.
●
The number of watershed in a basin is determined by
the following equation:
2
C
N=
( )
v
Ep
●
where: N=No. Of rain gauges in the basin
Cv= Coefficient of variation
– Ep=Tolerable error
ADEQUACY OR RAIN
GAUGES
●
Standard Deviation

σ n=
√
1
n
Σ(P i−P av )2

●
Coefficient of Variance
σn
Cv = x 100
P av
●
Average rainfall from surrounding stations where n is
the number of stations

1
Pav = Σ P i
n
 EXAMPLE
A basin currently have 6 stations and the annual daily
average are as follows:
Station Annual Average
A 103mm
B 67mm
C 72mm
D 115mm
E 85mm
F 62mm

Determine the current number of station is adequate or

not. If the number is not adequate, how many rain
gauges must be added? Set the tolerable error to
15%
 EXAMPLE
●
Standard Deviation

●
σ n=
√
1
6
Σ(P i−P av )2

Coefficient of Variance

σ n−1
C v= x 100
Pav
●
Average rainfall from surrounding stations

1
Pav = Σ P i
n
where n is the number of stations
EXAMPLE
The missing rainfall data can now be computed as
follows:
2
Cv
N =( )
Ep
MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
There will be instances where the rainfall data will be
lost. This can be due to severe weather or theft. The
following method for computing missing rainfall data
are as follows:
– Arithmetic Mean
– Normal Ratio
– Inverse Distance
– Regression method
 MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
The arithmetic mean is easier method but will only be
applicable depending on the following situation
●
The annual average of the missing station X is within
10% of the surrounding stations
●
There should be at least 3 surrounding stations with
available data
●
The distances of surrounding stations must be at least
equidistant
1
P x = (Σ Pi )
n
EXAMPLE
Station A was knocked off by strong winds due to a
typhoon Sta. B, C, D and E remains intact. If the data
for the storm and the stations annual daily average are
given:
Station Storm Annual

A X 69mm

B 75mm 67mm

C 92mm 72mm

D 107mm 115mm

E 96mm 68mm

Find the missing data and assume that all stations

are equidistant
EXAMPLE
Solutions
MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
Another way to compute the missing rainfall data is by
regression method this method is not bounded by the
constraint regarding the number of data although more
data means more accuracy

P x = A 0 +a1 P1 +a 2 P2 +...+a n Pn
Pi= rainfall data

a= constants computed using least square method

 MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
If the annual average between the station is more than
10% with each other the normal ratio can be applied
provided that the stations have 30 years of average
rainstorms

Nx Pi
P x= Σ( )
n Ni
where:
– Pi =rainfall of sta i
– Nx = annual average of sta i
– n = no. of stations
– Px =missing rainfall
– Nx = annual average of the missing station
EXAMPLE
For the missing rainfall in the previous example the
following data are

Station Storm Annual

A X 69mm

B 75mm 67mm

C 92mm 72mm

D 107mm 115mm

E 96mm 68mm
EXAMPLE
For the missing rainfall in the previous example the
following data are
MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
Another way to compute the missing rainfall data is by
regression method this method is not bounded by the
constraint regarding the number of data although more
data means more accuracy

P x = A 0 +a1 P1 +a 2 P2 +...+a n Pn
Pi= rainfall data

a= constants computed using least square method

 MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
●
If the annual average between the station is more than
10% with each other the normal ratio can be applied
provided that the stations have 30 years of average
rainstorms

N x Pi
P x= ε ( )
n Ni
where:
– Pi =rainfall of sta i
– Ni = annual average of sta i
– N = no. of stations
– Px =missing rainfall
– Nx = annual average of the missing station
MISSING RAINFALL
DATA
The most common method in computing missing
rainfall data is by the inverse distance method

ΣP i W i
P x=
ΣW i
Px= missing rainfall

Pi=rainfall of sta i
1
wi= 2
D
D2 =X 2 +Y 2
EXAMPLE
For the missing rainfall at sta A the following were
obtained:
Station Rainfall x(km) y(km

A 0 0

B 102mm 10 4

C 96mm -6 -12

D 74mm 21 -24

E 86mm 16 -8

F 65mm -26 -38

find the missing rainfall assuming all stations

experience the same storm
EXAMPLE
Solutions
EXAMPLE
Solutions
CONSISTENCY OF
RAINFALL DATA
●
The rainfall data must be checked for consistency. The
method used is called the double mass curve.
●
In this method, the annual rainfall is arranged from
latest to the earliest
 AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
To find the average rainfall on a basin, there are 3
methods that are available
– Arithmetic mean
– Thiessen polygon
– Isohyetal
●
The arithmetic mean is applicable for small basins (less
than 8 km2) this is to ensure that every station is
affected by the same storm system
EXAMPLE
Determine the average rainfall in an urban basin
given the following:
1-23mm *4 *1

2-37mm
*2
3-12mm
4-42mm *4

5-31mm
6-27mm *6
*3
*5
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
In order to address the limitations of the arithmetic
mean, the thiessen polygon method is introduced.
●
The working equation for this method is as follows:

P1 A1 + P2 A 2 +...+ P N A N
Pave =
A basin
Pi Ai
Pave =Σ( )
A basin
Where Ai is the area of polygons obtained from dividing
the basin
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
The process starts by connecting the given rainfall
stations as shown below
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
Divide the middle part of the line in half and then
extend until it meets the other dividing line
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
Obtain the areas that are within the basin
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
Obtain the areas that are within the basin that are
under the influence of the station. These are the A 1, A2,
A3, and so on.
EXAMPLE
Determine the average rainfall of the basin shown
below using the thiessen polygon method

P1 = 5.5mm
P2 = 4.5mm
P3 = 4.7mm
P4 = 5.8mm
P6 = 3.0mm
EXAMPLE
Determine the average rainfall of the basin shown
below using the thiessen polygon method

A1 = 6.0ha
A2 = 7.5ha
A3 = 7.8ha
A4 = 10.0ha
A6 = 5.0ha
AVERAGE RAINFALL
●
Another method to determine the average rainfall of
the basin is Isohyetal Method.
●
This method is develop in order to account for the
orographic effect on mountainous area.
●
If rainfall contours are plotted as per rainfall, the
results will be just the same as that of the thiessen
polygon method
AVERAGE RAINFALL

The working equation for this method is

P2 + P3

Pave =
P1 A1 +( 2 ) A 2+...+ P N A N

A basin
AVERAGE RAINFALL
AVERAGE RAINFALL
AVERAGE RAINFALL
 PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
●
Rainfall data are presented using several types of
graphs that are used for design purposes

(a) Moving average curve

(b)Mass curve
(c)Rainfall hyetograph
(d)Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curve
●
Moving average curve is developed by plotting the
rainfall data chronologically between time in x-axis and
precipitation in y-axis. The purpose of the graph is to
isolate the trend in rainfall from other random
events.
EXAMPLE
Develop the 3 year moving average for the annual
rainfall given below:
1989 649mm
1990 1010mm
1991 958mm
1992 1121mm
1993 901mm
1994 997mm
1995 1210mm
1996 1171mm
1997 978mm
1998 524mm
1999 679mm
2000 947mm
EXAMPLE
●
The moving average works by taking the moving
average of the rainfall of the second year by the
number of years
P 1989 +P 1990 +P 1991
Moving Average 1990 =
3

As a result, the first and the last year will have no

data.
●
The 3 year moving average for the example are plotted
below

spreadsheet file for this will be provided as well

EXAMPLE
Year Annual 3 year moving
Rainfall (mm) Average
1989 649 -
1990 1010 873
1991 958 1030
1992 1121 994
1993 901 1007
1994 997 1036
1995 1210 1126
1996 1171 1120
1997 978 891
1998 524 727
1999 679 717
2000 947 -
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
●
Mass curve is the plot of cumulative rainfall overtime.

EXAMPLE

For a rainy day rainfall observation, develop the

mass curve
0600 3mm
0700 2mm
0800 0mm
0900 5mm
1000 7mm
1100 3mm
1200 2mm
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
Cumulative Mass Curve
25

20

15

10

0
500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
●
Another way to present rainfall data is to present it as
a plot of rainfall intensity over time. This is called
rainfall hyetograph
●
Rainfall hyetograph provides a convenient way of
presenting the characteristics of a rainfall event.
●
It is also used to quantify the design storm that will be
used for design of flood protection structures as well as
the proper size of drainage
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
EXAMPLE

For a rainy day rainfall observation, develop the

rainfall hyetograph and determine the highest
rainfall intensity of the period
Time Rainfall
(mm)
600 3
700 2
800 0
900 5
1000 7
1100 3
1200 2
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
EXAMPLE

since the rainfall data is already given on an hourly

basis the rainfall is simply divided by the time interval
which is 1hr
Time Rainfall
Intensity
(mm/hr)

600 3
700 2
800 0
900 5
Highest
1000 7 Rainfall
1100 3 Intensity
1200 2
PRESENTATION OF
RAINFALL DATA
8

0
600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200