ABEN 55

PRECIPITATION:
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION

Engr. Melrose M. Salona

• Also known as the
water cycle
• cycle that involves the
continuous circulation
of water in the Earth-
atmosphere system
• Precipitation is water being
released from clouds as rain,
sleet, snow, or hail.

• Precipitation begins after water

vapor, which has condensed in
the atmosphere, becomes too
heavy to remain in atmospheric
air currents and falls.
• About one-fourth of the total precipitation that
falls on continental areas is turned to the seas by
direct runoff and underground.
• The rainfall pattern in the Philippines is affected
by the major air streams, by the movement of the
ITCZ, and by the cyclonic disturbances.
• The Philippines receives an average of 2,348 mm
of rainfall every year. However, this amount is not
evenly distributed over time and space.
• The country has a mean annual number of about
175 rainy days.
• A large majority of the stations in the eastern
coastal areas have mean annual of rainy days
more than the average for the Philippines while
the majority of the stations in the western coastal
areas have values less than the average.
• The process of water changing
from a vapor to a liquid
• Water vapor in the air rises mostly
by convection (warm, humid air
will rise, while cooler air will flow
downward)
• As the warmer air rises, the water
vapor will lose energy, causing its
temperature to drop
• The water vapor then has a
change of state into liquid or ice
• deposition of liquid water
droplets and ice particles that
are formed in the atmosphere
and grow to a sufficient size so
that they are returned to the
Earth's surface by gravitational
settling.
• may be solid or liquid
cooling of the air mass sufficient to
bring it to or near saturation

presence of condensation or
freezing nuclei on which the
droplets or crystals form

growth of water droplets and ice

crystals until their falling speeds
exceed the ascent rate of the air
 Drizzle
Rainfall
Glaze
Forms of
Rime
Precipitation
Snow
Sleet
Hail
 Any product of condensation of
atmospheric water vapor formed
in the free air or at earth’s surface

tiny liquid water droplets, 0.1 to consists of liquid water drops

0.5 mm in diameter; it falls at a mostly larger than 0.5 mm in
rate of <1mm/hr (appear to float) diameter

the ice coating formed on white, opaque deposit of ice granules

exposed surfaces by the freezing more or less separated by trapped air
of supercooled water deposited and formed by rapid freezing of
by rain or drizzle supercooled water drops impinging on
exposed objects
composed of ice crystals, chiefly
in complex, branched hexagonal
form, and often agglomerated
into snowflakes
precipitation in the form of balls of
ice, produced in convective clouds
consists of transparent, globular,
solid grains of ice formed by the
freezing of raindrops or
refreezing of largely melted ice
crystals falling through a layer
subfreezing air near the earth’s
surface
 Convective Lifting
caused by unequal heating of
land masses

TYPES OF PRECIPITATION ACCORDING TO LIFTING MECHANISM

Orographic Lifting
mechanical lifting over mountain
barriers
Convective lifting Orographic lifting
 Frontal lifting
• lifting of warm air on one side of a
frontal surface over colder, denser air
on the other side
• front – bounding surface between two
distinct air
Frontal lifting
TYPES OF PRECIPITATION ACCORDING TO LIFTING MECHANISM

Cyclonic Lifting
lifting of air converging into a low-
Cyclonic lifting
pressure area
Characteristics of Raindrops
rainfall directly affects soil erosion: the characteristics of raindrops are
of interest
• raindrops include water particles as large as 7 mm ф
• the size distribution in any storm covers a wide range and varies
with rainfall intensity
• a higher-intensity storm has more large-diameter raindrops, and
also has a wider range of raindrop diameters
• velocity of fall depends on size; large drops fall more rapidly
• terminal velocity of drops varies from about 5 m/s for a 1-mm
drop to about 9 m/s for a 5-mm raindrop
Characteristics of Raindrops
• small raindrops (radius < 1 mm) are spherical; larger ones assume a
shape more like that of a hamburger bun.
• When they get larger than a radius of about 4.5 mm they rapidly
become distorted into a shape rather like a parachute with a tube of
water around the base -and then they break up into smaller drops.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html
Characteristics of Raindrops
• Disdrometer:

• an optical device situated on a stationary ground station platform

that measures properties of different hydrometeor (precipitation)
types such as raindrops, snowflakes, and hail.
• continuous measurements of size distribution, shape, and fall
velocities of all precipitation particles and types.
• It can also monitor rainfall types, visibility, radar reflectivity and other
parameters. It is widely used in the field of hydrometeorology.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html
Source
Rainfall Characteristics

a. Intensity – expressed in mm/hr

• average rainfall depth that falls per time increment
• high rainfall intensity indicates that it’s raining hard and low intensity
that it’s raining lightly
• storms of high intensity do much erosion damage and may cause
devastating floods
b. Duration
• very intense storms last for short periods and cover small areas
• not frequent in areas having high total annual rainfall
Rainfall Characteristics
c. Frequency
• RETURN PERIOD or RECURRENCE INTERVAL – period within which the
magnitude of a hydrologic event will be equaled or exceeded once on the
average
• the relationship between return period and probability of occurrence can be
expressed by
1
𝑇=
𝑃
Where:
T = return period in years
P = % probability that an observed event in a given year is equal to or greater than a given event

• very intense storms are not necessarily more frequent

• the infrequent combination of high intensity and long duration gives large total
amount of rainfall
Rainfall Characteristics
• Probability, P – percentage of observed events that are equal to or greater
than a given event within a period of time

𝟏
𝑷=
𝑻
• Risk – probability that an event will occur at least ONCE in n consecutive
years

𝟏 𝒏
𝑷 = 𝟏 − (𝟏 − ) 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝑻
rainfall advisory

rappler.com
Levels of Rainfall
 rainfall
advisory
 PAGASA
Storm Surge
Warning
Levels
 rainfall
advisory
Measurement of Rainfall
amounts and intensity of rainfall are important since most estimates of runoff rates
are based on rainfall data

Non-recording Rain Gage Recording Rain Gage

• 8” diameter standard rain gage – • Tipping-bucket gage – for

has a measuring tube 1/10 of the
area of the collector; used for
measuring rainfall depth (mm)
measuring rainfall intensity (mm/hr)
• Weighing type – accumulated rain
• Float recording – the rise of the float
with increasing catch of rainfall is
recorded
 rainfall-measuring instruments

• A rain gauge is a meteorological instrument used to

measure precipitation in its liquid form in a specific
area over a predetermined period of time.
• It is typically used as part of a weather station to
measure current and determine future weather
conditions, as well as monitoring the water cycle.
 8-inch standard rain gage
• Also known as Graduated Cylinder Rain Gauge
• The water gets collected by a cylindrical funnel, from where
it flows directly into the graduated cylinder or captured by a
container and then poured into a measured cylinder.

piercecollegeweather.com
maximum-inc.com

all-geo.org Weather.gov
 tipping bucket rain gage
• The tipping bucket rain gauge is an automated rain meter
that uses a "tipping bucket" mechanism to measure rainfall.

theconstructor.org

novalynx.com

bellflowsystems.co.uk
 tipping bucket rain gage
• Tipping of bucket completes an electric circuit causing the
movement of pen to mark on clock driven receiving drum which
carries a recorded sheet. These electric pulses generated are
recorded at the control room far away from the rain gauge station.
This instrument is further suited for digitalizing the output signal.

slideshare.net

mammothmemory.net
 weighing bucket rain gauge
• A weighing precipitation gauge consists of receiving bucket
mounted on a weighing device, usually a mechanical mechanism
such as a spring. The rain accumulates in the container, and the
increased weight compresses the springs.

• The amount of compression gets measured and used to calculate

the weight of the water.

hess.copernicus.org

ownyourweather.com theconstructor.org
 optical rain gauge
• An optical rain gauge consists of a laser/infrared diode and
photosensitive sensor situated in enclosed spaces on opposites
sides and below a row of funnels that receive rainfall. When enough
water is collected to make a single drop, it drips from the bottom,
falling into the laser beam path.

• Optical rain sensors have the advantage of not only measuring the
amount of rainfall but also the intensity and frequency of the rain
through precise detection by the photosensitive detector.

catalog.opticalscientific.com rainsensors.com
wiki.seeedstudio.com
 acoustic rain gauge
• Also known as hydrophones, acoustic rain gauges are used to measure the rainfall
over large bodies of water like dams, lakes, and the ocean.

• The device itself gets place underneath the water's surface. The hydrophone can
sense and measure the impact of the raindrops hitting the surface of the water.

• Each raindrop makes a unique sound, depending on its size and speed, which is
called a sound signature. An acoustic rain gauge is sensitive enough to detect the
different sound signatures to calculate the size and frequency of different raindrops.

dosits.org slideplayer.com seis-tech.com

 Analysis and Interpretation of
Precipitation Data

Correct interpretation of precipitation data is important to

avoid erroneous conclusions• The quality of precipitation data
is affected by change in:
• gage location
• gage exposure
• instrumentation
• observational procedure
Estimating Missing Data
1. ARITHMETIC MEAN METHOD – the simple average of the precipitation
at the index station is obtained if the normal annual precipitation at
each of the index stations is within 10% of that for the station with the
missing record

𝑃𝐴 + 𝑃𝐵 + 𝑃𝑐
𝑃𝑥 =
𝑛
Estimating Missing Data
2. NORMAL-RATIO METHOD – if the normal annual precipitation at any
of the index stations differs from that at the station in question by
more that 10%, the amounts at the index stations are weighted by the
ratios of the normal-annual-precipitation values

𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑥
𝑃𝐴 + 𝑃𝐵 + 𝑃𝐶
𝑃𝑋 = 𝑁 𝐴 𝑁 𝐵 𝑁 𝐶
0

𝑛
where N is the normal precipitation
Estimating Missing Data
Sample Problem
Sample Problem

Estimating Missing Data

PA = 98 mm NA = 1008 mm
PB = 80 mm NB = 842 mm
PC = 110 mm NC = 1080 mm
PX = ? NX = 880 mm

880 𝑚𝑚 880 𝑚𝑚 880 𝑚𝑚

(98 𝑚𝑚 )+(80 𝑚𝑚 )+(110 𝑚𝑚 )
1008 𝑚𝑚 842 𝑚𝑚 1080 𝑚𝑚
𝑃𝑥 =
3
258.7956365 𝑚𝑚
𝑃𝑥 = = 𝟖𝟔. 𝟐𝟔𝟓𝟐𝟏𝟐𝟏𝟔 𝐦𝐦
3
 Estimating average rainfall over
an area
1. ARITHMETIC MEAN METHOD

• simplest of the area averaging methods;

• this involves averaging arithmetically all the rain amounts measured by the rain
gages within the area assumes uniform gage coverage of the area and linear
variations in rainfall in between any two gaging stations
 Estimating average rainfall over
an area
2. THIESSEN POLYGON METHOD – allows for non-uniform distribution of gage by
providing a weighting factor for each gage

allows for non-uniform distribution of gage by providing a weighting factor for

each gage; connecting lines are drawn between stations on a map then
perpendicular bisectors are drawn on these lines in such a way that the bisectors
enclose areas referred to as Thiessen polygons the area of which is determined by
planimetry.
 Estimating average rainfall over
an area
2. THIESSEN POLYGON METHOD

𝑃𝐴 𝐴𝐴 +𝑃𝐵 𝐴𝐵 +⋯+𝑃𝑁 𝐴𝑁
𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑃 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
 Estimating average rainfall over
an area
3. ISOHYETAL METHOD – most accurate method; contours of equal precipitation are
drawn then the average precipitation is computed by weighting the average
precipitation between successive isohyets by the area between isohyets

𝑃𝐴 𝐴𝐴 +𝑃𝐵 𝐴𝐵 +⋯+𝑃𝑁 𝐴𝑁
𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑃 =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
 Area of Polygon Average Rainfall Volume
Station
(sq. km) Rainfall (mm) (mm-sq. km)
A 570 8.8

B 920 7.6

C 720 10.8

D 620 9.2

E 520 13.8

F 550 10.4

Total
 Area of Polygon Average Rainfall Volume
Station
(sq. km) Rainfall (mm) (mm-sq. km)
A 570 8.8 5016
B 920 7.6 6992
C 720 10.8 7776
D 620 9.2 5704
E 520 13.8 7176
F 550 10.4 5720
Total 3,900 38,384
 570 𝑘𝑚2 𝑥 8.8 𝑚𝑚 + 920 𝑘𝑚2 𝑥 7.6 𝑚𝑚 + 720 𝑘𝑚2 𝑥 10.8 𝑚𝑚 +
2 2 2
(620 𝑘𝑚 𝑥 9.2 𝑚𝑚) + (520 𝑘𝑚 𝑥 13.8 𝑚𝑚) + (550 𝑘𝑚 𝑥 10.4 𝑚𝑚)
𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑃 =
3,900 𝑘𝑚2

38,384 𝑚𝑚 − 𝑘𝑚2
𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑃 =
3,900 𝑘𝑚2
𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝑷 = 𝟗. 𝟖𝟒𝟐𝟎𝟓𝟏𝟐𝟖𝟐 𝒎𝒎
 Isohyets Area between Average Rainfall Rainfall Volume
(mm) Isohyets (sq. km) (mm) (mm-sq. km)

125 33.28 125

100 197.12 112.5

75 296.96 87.5

50 501.76 62.5

25 494.11 37.5

less than 25 79.36 21

Total
ARITHMETIC AVERAGE THIESSEN METHOD
Advantages Advantages
1. Fast and easy 1. Stations weighted according to area
2. Objective controlled
3. Accurate to extent controlled by 2. Utilizes stations outside the basin
gage density 3. Objective
4. Subject to only slight error in Disadvantages
computation 1. Requires some skills at drawing
Disadvantages Thiessen
1. Ignores orographic effects 2. Slow
2. Uses only stations in basin 3. Orography generally ignored
3. Gives poor results if stations are 4. Stations have fixed areas for control
unequally distributed (which is 5. Requires more computations,
the general case) therefore subject to more errors.
ISOHYETAL METHOD

Advantages
1. Possible to account for topography
2. Gives best results (most accurate)
3. Takes advantage of unequal gage density
4. Utilizes stations outside basin
5. For large basins, it is possible to determine contributing area. Very
important in streamflow analysis.
6. Results can be utilized in transportation techniques
7. Possible at a glance to see rainfall pattern
Disadvantages
1. Subjective
2. Slow
3. Requires some training and skills
4. Subject to possible large errors due to number of computations
Sources
Luyun, R. A. (2019). Lecture Materials for Soil and Water
Conservation Engineering. University of the Philippines Los
Baños.
Cero, D.L. & Cero L.L. (2001). Learning Guide in
Hydrometeorology. Cavite State University Indang, Cavite