PRECIPITATION

Definition
Precipitation is a general term to denote
rainfall and snow fall liquid and solid water
falling from atmosphere.

Importance of Precipitation
Among the climatic factors, precipitation
and evaporation are the most important in
hydrology and hydrometeorology.
FORMS OF PRECIPITATION
Drizzle
- Sometimes called mist
- Consist of tiny liquid water droplets, usually with
diameter between 0.1 and 0.5 mm with such slow
settling rates
Rain
– Liquid precipitation (drops larger than 0.5 mm in
diameter)
Dew
– Condensation on the earth’s surface, vegetal cover
and the soil. This form does not contribute to
hydrologic cycle because of its small amount and it
evaporates during early morning hours.
Drizzle
Rain
Dew
Fog/Rime
– Fog – fine water droplets suspended in the air
– Rime – frozen form of this deposit
Snow and related forms
– Solid precipitation generally occurring in the middle to
high latitude
Note:
a) the form and quantity of precipitation are influenced by
the action of wind, temperature and atmospheric
pressure;
b) precipitation derived from atmospheric moisture varies
according to the climate of the area;
c) different climate yield different amount of precipitation
Rime
Snow
TYPE OF CLIMATE (according to amount of rainfall)
Arid
– Very dry like desert; areas with annual rainfall of <250
mm; rainfall is not adequate for regular crop
production
Semi-arid
– Dry areas like steppes; area where rainfall is sufficient
for short season crops only.
Humid
– Exemplified by tropical countries where supply of
precipitation is distributed throughout the year and of
greater amount.
Arid Areas
Semi-arid
Humid Areas
 FORMATION OF RAIN
Four conditions necessary for the production of
precipitation
• Mechanism to produce cooling
• Mechanism to produce condensation
• Mechanism for growth of cloud droplets
• Mechanism for the accumulation of moisture
of sufficient amount
Mechanism for cooling
Adiabatic reduction of temperature associated with
upward motion of air masses.
The main effect of vertical air motion is a change in the
state of air masses, that is, a increase in T cause a raise of air;
and decrease in T cause a fall of air. Hence, the mechanism
that is required to cool the air sufficiently to bring it near
saturation is achieved by lifting the air. How?

• By the convective systems resulting from equal radiative

heating or cooling of the earth’s surface
• By convergence cause by orographic barriers

Note: Saturation is achieved when es = ea that is RH = 100%,

where
es - saturation vapor pressure and ea – actual vapor
pressure
with RH of 100%
Mechanism to produce condensation

Assumption: air is close to saturation

The formation of water droplets and ice crystals in the cloud
level requires the presence of the condensation or freezing nuclei.
Condensation nuclei
• Essentially small particles of various substances
• Serves as nucleate for the initial condensation water vapor
• Most active nuclei: products of combustion like oxides of nitrogen,
sulfurous/nitrous acid, salt particles
Freezing nuclei
• Most active in the presence of super-cooled droplets
• Essentially clay minerals, kaolin, being most common
• Serves as nucleate liquid phase, thus initiating the growth of ice
crystals

Note: Artificial freezing nuclei are used for weather modification,

examples of which are carbon dioxide (dry ice) and silver iodide (AgI)
Mechanism for the growth of cloud droplets
• Collision and coalescence of cloud and
precipitation element are considered the most
important factors leading to significant
precipitation.
• Collision between cloud and precipitation
particles mostly from differences in falling speed
depending on size.
• Particles that collide usually coalesce from large
particles and the process may be repeated a
number of times.
• Terminal velocity levels off as drop approach
maximum.
Mechanism for Accumulation of Moisture
Regardless of whether or not the other
conditions for precipitation are fulfilled,
simple continuity considerations demand
that there must be enough moisture in the
air.
There should be a net horizontal influx
of water vapor into the column above the
rain area, the process called convergence.

Continued…….
……continuation
In summary, when water vapor in
the air cools, it is transformed into
water droplets that form the cloud we
see in the sky. When these water
droplets become large and heavy
enough that the air can no longer
support them, the water droplets
eventually fall as rain, snow, sleet or
hail. Rainfall is one such result of
precipitation process.
ARTIFICIAL STIMULATION OF PRECIPITATION

Due to the scarcity of water as a

result increasing population and
utilization, there is an increasing need
to increase rainfall through some
artificial cloud modifications using
freezing nuclei.
Use of Dry Ice
Most clouds require larger droplet sizes to yield
precipitation, One process make the droplets larger
involves the evaporation of small water droplets to ice
crystals. To promote ice crystal growth, intensely cold
dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) pellets are dropped from
airplanes into the clouds having near-freezing
temperatures. Two effects should occur:

• Air should be cooled sufficiently so that ice crystal

condensation should occur in the clouds
• Water vapor condensing onto ice crystals should
release enough latent heat to cause continued rising
and adiabatic cooling of the air to promote further
condensation and thus keep the process going.
Use of silver iodide crystals
A more common procedure than
cloud seeding with dry ice pellets has
been cloud seeding with minute silver
iodide crystals. In this practice, silver
iodide is either burned in generators at
the ground and carried aloft by
convection or it is fired into the clouds
from aircraft.
Dry Ice
Silver Iodide Crystal
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION IN PRECIPITATION
• Precipitation is heaviest near equator and decreases
with increasing latitude;
• Precipitation tends to be heavier near coastlines, since
main source of moisture for precipitation is
evaporation from oceans;
• Precipitation amount/frequency are generally greater
on the windward side of mountain barriers since lifting
air masses accounts foremost all precipitation

TIME VARIATION IN PRECIPITATION

• Precipitation record may suggest and increasing
or decreasing trend but usually tend to return to
mean, abnormally wet periods tend to balance
dry periods.
PRECIPITATION MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
To measure the amount of rainfall, a
raingauge used by PAGASA, the 8-inch raingauge
and the tipping bucket raingauge

8-in Raingauge
An 8-ince raingauge, so called because the
inside diameter of the receiver is exactly 8 inches
is provided with a funnel that conducts rain into a
cylindrical measuring tube. The volume of the
receiver is 10 times the volume of the measuring
tube. Therefore, the actual depth of rainfall is
increased ten times on being collected in the
smaller measuring tube.
8-in Raingauge
Tipping bucket raingauge
Another type of rainfall recording instrument
is the tipping-bucket raingauge. It is upright
cylinder that has a funnel-shaped receiver. The
precipitation collected by the receiver empties
into one side of a “tipping bucket”, an inverted
triangular contraption partitioned transversely at
its center, and is pivoted about a horizontal axis.
Once it is filled with rain, it tips, spilling out the
water and placing the other half of the bucket
under the funnel. The tipping activates a mercury
switch causing an electrical current to move the
pen in the recorder. Each tipping is equal to one
millimeter of rainfall.
Tipping bucket raingauge
END…