PRECIPITATION

(With emphasis on Rain)

FORMATION OF PRECIPITATION

► Precipitation is that part of atmospheric moisture that falls on the earth surface. It
is the primary input into the hydrologic cycle. It could occur in various forms such
as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

► It is generally agreed that the initial process in the formation of precipitation is the
condensation or sublimation of atmospheric moisture. This transformation may
be brought about by one or more of the following causes: (1) adiabatic cooling;
(2) mixing of air masses of varying temperature; (3) radiation cooling and (4)
contact cooling. The more important of these causes are adiabatic cooling and
mixing of air masses of different temperatures. The two other causes rarely
produce significant amounts of precipitation.

► The condensation into water droplets and sublimation into ice crystals of
atmospheric water vapor generally occur around condensation or sublimation
nuclei. The principal types of these nuclei are particles of ocean salt, products of
combustion and oxides of nitrogen. These nuclei are usually less than 1 micron in
diameter. Usually, it only takes a few seconds to produce water droplets of 10
microns which is the average size of water droplets in clouds. Such droplets,
however, weigh so little that an upward air movement of less than 0.15 m/min is
sufficient to keep them from falling into the earth’s surface. Ice crystals of the
same diameter are even lighter because of their smaller specific weights and can
be supported by even lower air velocities.

► Even in the absence of upward wind draft, very small water droplets or ice crystals
falling from clouds evaporate while passing through unsaturated atmospheric
layers. For example, it has been reported that water droplets with diameters of as
much as 200 microns will evaporate in a 3.3 m thick atmospheric layer having a
relative humidity of 90 percent. Thus, most ice crystals and water droplets formed
by condensation and sublimation never reach the earth’s surface.

► Raindrops reaching the earth’s surface are generally over 500 microns (0.5 mm) in
diameter. A small raindrop is usually about 3 mm in diameter. It has been
estimated that it will take about a day for the condensation process alone to form

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 such a drop. As a result, condensation alone can not be expected to produce any
significant amount of precipitation.

► Two other processes are generally regarded as capable of supporting the growth of
water droplets or ice crystals formed by condensation and sublimation. These are
the coalescence and ice crystals processes. Implied in the coalescence process is
the fusion or coalescence of water droplets as a result of their coming in contact
through the action on them of air movement and gravitational pull. Differences in
size and wind draft will cause differences in drop velocities and, hence, increase
the probabilities of collision and union of drops to form raindrops of from 0.5 to
4.0 mm in diameter. The coalescence process may also be a result from
electrostatic attraction of cloud elements (including water droplets) of different
electrical charges.

► The growth of ice crystals or water droplets through the ice crystals process is
caused primarily by the difference in the vapor pressure around water droplets and
ice crystals. Ice crystals and water droplets are known to co-exist in the atmosphere
at sub-freezing temperatures. Under such condition, the vapor pressure around a
water droplet is higher than that over an ice crystal. This difference in pressure
serves as the driving force for condensation of moisture over the ice crystal. This
growth of the ice crystals also favors coalescence with other ice crystals or water
droplets.

► The importance of understanding the process of rain formation lies in the

possibility of artificially inducing precipitation.

FORMS OF PRECIPITATION

► Any product of condensation of atmospheric water vapor formed in the free air or
at earth’s surface is called a hydrometeor. Only those hydrometeors falling into
the earth’s surface, termed precipitation, are of particular interest to agricultural
engineers as far as water resources management and development is concerned. In
the Philippines, there are only two forms of precipitation commonly observed, as
follows:

1. Drizzle – sometimes called mist, consists of tiny liquid water droplets, usually
with diameters between 0.1 and 0.5 mm (0.004 and 0.02 in), with such slow
settling rates that they occasionally appear to float. This usually falls from low
stratus and rarely exceeds 1 mm/hr (0.04 in/hr) in intensity.

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 2. Rain – consists of liquid water drops mostly larger than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) in
diameter. Rainfall usually refers to amounts of liquid precipitation. In the
United States, rain is reported in three intensities:

Light : For rates of fall up to 0.10 in/hr (2.5 mm/hr) inclusive.

Moderate : From 0.11 to 0.30 in/hr (2.8 to 7.6 mm/hr)
Heavy : Over 0.30 in/hr (7.6 mm/hr)

TYPES OF PRECIPITATION

► Adiabatic or dynamic cooling is the primary cause of condensation and hence, is

responsible for most precipitation. Adiabatic cooling results mainly from
expansion of air mass which results from a decrease in atmospheric pressure. This
is triggered primarily by the upward or vertical motion of air masses. As a result,
storm or precipitation events are usually classified according to the conditions that
cause this upward motion. Three general types of storms are identified in this
respect, as follows:

1. Convective Precipitation. Typical of the tropics, this type of precipitation

results from the differential heating of air masses near the ground surface
resulting in the upward movement of warmer air masses. A heated air mass
moving upward is cooled down by the surrounding air and by the expansion
process. Cooling brings about condensation which may develop into
precipitation. This type of precipitation may be in the form of light showers to
cloudburst or thunderstorm depending on the temperature and moisture
conditions. Convective precipitation are usually highly localized and of short
duration.

2. Orographic Precipitation. This type of precipitation is influenced by

topography. Moist air masses moving over mountain barriers are cooled,
resulting in condensation and precipitation. Such air masses get dry and warm
as they move downslope on the leeward side of the mountain barriers.
Orographic types of rainfall are usually of very low intensity.

➢ The influence of this type of precipitation on the climate of many areas in the
Philippines is very significant considering that the Philippines is mountainous
and made up of a chain of islands.

3. Cyclonic Precipitation. Cyclonic precipitation are associated with the

movement of air masses due to differences in barometric pressure. This type of

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 precipitation may further be classified into two general types: frontal
precipitation and non-frontal precipitation. The non-frontal precipitation is
triggered by the presence of a low pressure into which air flow converges
resulting in the lifting and subsequent cooling of air masses. Frontal storms
(which produces frontal precipitation) result when two air masses of different
characteristics such as warm, moist air mass and cold air mass meet.
Precipitation is usually produced at the frontal or colliding boundaries of these
air masses. Significant rainfall (warm front precipitation) of longer duration
and wider areal coverage usually results when warm air masses move upward
over cold air masses. Less intense rainfall results when an advancing cold front
pushes back warm, moist air masses (cold front precipitation).

➢ In most parts of the Philippines, more than 80 percent of the total rainfall are
attributable to cyclonic precipitation. The more common weather
phenomena causing cyclonic type of rainfall include tropical cyclones,
barometric lows during the summer months inducing the moist southwest
monsoons, the movements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
and the southward movement of cold, high pressure cells from temperate
Asia during the winter months.

➢ Tropical cyclones are destructive weather disturbances that usually develop

near the equator (5 deg north or south). They are characterized by low
pressure centers with great air masses spiraling towards them. They move
to higher latitudes at about 10 to 50 km per hour in a northwesterly direction.
The general atmospheric conditions during the period from July through
September favor the drawing into the Philippines of cyclones that develop
in the Pacific Ocean. On the average, about 35 to 45 percent of such
cyclones reach the eastern coasts of the country. After September, changing
weather conditions cause the cyclones to move westward toward the
southern parts of the Philippines. Also, the chances of a cyclone that develop
over the Pacific Ocean reaching the Philippines progressively diminish (10
to 25 percent in October and November, and less than 5 percent in March).
On the average, the country is visited by about 15 to 22 tropical cyclones
each year. Each cyclone usually deposits considerable rains along its wide
area of influence.

➢ The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is the zone of convergence of

the trade winds coming from the north and southern hemispheres. As a
region of convergence of two air masses, it is characterized by widespread
cloudiness, precipitation and moderate to strong surface winds. The ITCZ
is not stationary near the equator but moves with respect to the orientation
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 of the earth’s axis as it orbits the sun. During the summer months in the
northern hemisphere, it is usually found north of the Philippines. In winter
months when high pressure cold cells hover over the Asiatic mainland, it
migrates south of the equator. Its influence on Philippine weather is felt
mainly during the period from May to October.

➢ The temperature variations over the Asiatic continent as a result of changing

inclination of the earth’s axis cause changing air streams which, in turn,
significantly influence Philippine weather. During the winter months from
December through March, the cold air mass over mainland Asia send strong
northeasterly winds over the Philippines causing precipitation over the
eastern coastal areas of the country. In the summer months, the Asiatic
mainland becomes warmer than its surrounding oceans and a low pressure
area develops over the continent. This causes the flow of moist, warm winds
coming from the southwest. Originating from the Indian Ocean, these
southwest monsoons are of considerable depth (over 10,000 m) and width
and persists for a long period (May through October). They induce
prolonged and widespread rains in Luzon and the Visayas.

ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED PRECIPITATION

► Weather modification, sometimes referred to as weather control, is the general

term for efforts to alter artificially the natural meteorological phenomena of the
atmosphere. Attempts to increase or decrease precipitation, suppress hail and
lighting, mitigate tropical cyclones, dissipate fog, prevent frost, alter radiation
balance, etc., are all included under weather modification. Cloud modification, or
cloud seeding, is one type of weather modification, and usually has as its goal either
dissipation of the cloud or stimulation of precipitation.

► It was demonstrated in 1946 that dry ice can cause precipitation in a cloud
containing supercooled water droplets. This discovery soon led to further
discoveries that certain salts, notably silver iodide, can also induce precipitation.
Both dry ice and silver iodide, the two most commonly used seeding agents, act as
freezing nuclei in supercooled clouds. Seeding clouds with dry ice requires
delivery into the aircraft, balloons, or rockets. Silver iodide, which is most
effective when heated to vaporization, may be delivered into the cloud by either
airborne or ground-based generators but has the disadvantage that its effectiveness
is reduced by exposure to sunlight, the number of effective particles decreasing by
a factor of about 10 for every hours of exposure. Nevertheless, the low operation

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 cost of ground-based generators has made this method the most commonly used
for augmentation of precipitation.

► The effectiveness of cloud seeding depends on many factors such as height of cloud
base and top, cloud temperature, difference between density inside the cloud and
that outside (buoyancy), updraft velocity distribution, amount and concentration of
liquid water in the cloud, number and distribution of natural freezing or
condensation nuclei, the number of artificial nuclei added, and where they are
introduced into the cloud.

MEASUREMENT OF RAINFALL

3.5.1 GAGING RAINFALL

➢ The purpose of the rain gage is to measure the depth and intensity of rain
falling on a flat surface. There are so many problems of measurements with
gages which include effects of topography and nearby vegetation as well as
the design of the gage itself. Rain gages are generally vertical, cylindrical
containers with top openings 203 mm in diameter. A funnel-shaped hood is
inserted to minimize evaporation losses.

➢ Rain gages may be classified as recording or non-recording. Non-recording

rain gages are economical, require servicing only after rains, and are
relatively free of maintenance. An example of a non-recording rain gage is
the standard rain gage (Fig. 3.1) which is a cylindrical tank having a circular
receiver 8 inches in diameter. For each of measurement of small
precipitation amounts, the rainfall is funneled from the receiver into small
inner cylindrical measuring tube which has an area that is one-tenth that of
the receiver. This provides a magnification of 10 times the depth of the
water and makes it possible to measure to the nearest 0.25 mm.

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 Fig. 3.1. The standard 8-inch rain gage.

➢ Many practical applications dictate that it is important to measure not only

the total rainfall or rainfall depth but also the rainfall intensity or rate of
rainfall. Recording rain gages similar in dimensions to those employed for
measuring rainfall depth are used for this purpose. Recording rain gages
may be of the weighing type which record on a chart the cumulative amounts
of rainfall with time, or may be of the tipping bucket type (Fig. 3.2) where
two buckets alternatively collect then empties 0.01 inch depth of rainfall.

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 Fig. 3.2. The tipping bucket rain gage.

ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT

➢ Many errors in measurement result from carelessness in handling the

equipment and in analyzing data. Errors characteristic of the non-recording
rain gage of the U.S. National Weather Service include water creeping up
on the measuring stick, evaporation, leaks in the funnel or can, and denting
of the cans. The volume of water displaced by the measuring stick is about
2 percent and may be taken as the correction for evaporation.

➢ Another class of errors is due to obstructions such as trees, buildings, and

uneven topography. These errors can be minimized by proper location of
the rain gages. The gages are normally placed with the opening about 760
mm above the ground surface. They should be located so as to minimize
turbulence in the wind passing across the gage. A practical rule is to have a
clearance of 45 degrees from the vertical center line through the gage, but a
safer rule is to be sure that the distance from the obstruction to the gage is
equal to at least two times the height of the obstruction.

➢ The wind velocity also affects the amount of water caught. A wind speed of
16 km/hr would decrease the rainfall caught by the gage by about 17%, but
at 48 km/hr the deficit is increased to about 60%. Whenever possible, the
gage should be located on level ground as the upward or downward wind
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 movement often found on uneven topography may easily affect the amount
of precipitation caught.

THE GAGING NETWORK IN THE PHILIPPINES

➢ Rainfall is the first climatological parameter extensively monitored

throughout the Philippines. Many agencies (PAGASA, the National
Irrigation Administration, the Bureau of Forest Development and the Bureau
of Plant Industry) operate a nationwide network of gaging stations. State
colleges and universities and private entities also maintain one or more rain
gages in their various localities.

➢ There are about 100 gaging stations in the country with long (25 years or
more) years of daily rainfall records. Most of these, however, are located
along the coastal areas as they were established primarily for aviation,
transport and non-agricultural purposes. There are about twice as many
stations having anywhere from 8 to 24 years of records. Most of these are
established mostly for agricultural, forestry and research and development
purposes. Unfortunately, there is no single agency maintaining a complete
record of most of these stations.

➢ The present gaging network density is still farm from desirable. Even if it
is assumed that there are at present about 300 gaging stations throughout the
country and that these are uniformly spaced, the resulting network density
is still only one rain gage for about 30,000 hectares. In terms of sampling
to total area represented ratio, this is equivalent to about 1.1 x 10-10 as the
area sampled by a standard rain gage is only about 0.032 m2.

ANALYSIS OF PRECIPITATION DATA

3.6.1 COMPLETING AND ADJUSTING PRECIPITATION DATA

➢ In not a few cases, the precipitation data records for a given gaging station
have missing observations or cannot be accepted at face value. In some
cases, the gaging station locations had been changed during the period for
which the series of records is available. For proper analysis and
interpretation, the records series must be made complete and some data
entries adjusted to reflect changes in gage sites.

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 ➢ Estimation of Missing Precipitation Data. For longer term totals such as
seasonal and annual rainfall magnitudes, the normal-ratio method may be
used. In this method, the three nearest stations with long years of records
are chosen as index stations. If the normal precipitation in each of these
index stations is within 10 percent of that for the station with the missing
record, a simple arithmetic average of the precipitation totals of the index
stations for the time period in question will suffice. Otherwise, the normal
precipitation values at the index station are weighted as follows:

Px = 1/3 {Nx (Pa/Na) + Nx (Pb/Nb) + (Nx (Pc/Nc)}

where: Na, Nb, Nc = the normal precipitation totals for the index stations
A, B and C for the desired time periods.
Pa, Pb, Pc = precipitation totals for the desired time period for the
three index stations.
Nx = normal precipitation at station X for the
desired time periods, and
Px = estimated precipitation total for station X (with
missing records)

Missing rainfall records for shorter time periods may be estimated

using a regression model of the form:
n
Rm = Bo +  Bj Rj + Bn+1 Rp + Bn+2 Rs + 
j =1

where: Rm = estimate of missing rainfall for a particular period.

Bo = intercept of the regression line.
B’s = regression coefficients.
Rj = rainfall during a particular period in the jth neighboring
or index equation.
Rp = rainfall during the preceding period in the station with
missing observation.
Rs = rainfall during the succeeding period in the station
with missing observation.

The use of the regression equation is based on the assumption that the
magnitude of rainfall in a given station is related to the occurrence or non-
occurrence of rainfall in the adjacent stations with the same climate type and
that the magnitude of precipitation in that station during the period

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 with missing data is related to the magnitudes of precipitation in that station
during the preceding and succeeding periods.

➢ Adjustments of Rainfall Data. The sites of many rain-gaging stations in the

country had been changed. Such changes are not usually disclosed in the
published reports. Double-mass analysis is usually used to test for the
consistency of records at a given site. This method compares the annual or
seasonal rainfall totals at the station in question with mean values of a group of
surrounding stations.

Figure 3.3, for example, shows a hypothetical double mass analyses

curve for a given station X. The annual rainfall totals for station X were
plotted against the mean values of the precipitation totals of index or
neighboring stations. A break in the slope of the curve in 1946 indicates that
station X was moved in 1946.

A break in the slope of the curve would indicate a change in

precipitation regime at station X. Such a change can be attributed to change
in location or exposure of the raingage since a change due to meteorological
factors will also be reflected in the index stations and will not cause a change
in the slope of the curve.

To adjust the records prior to 1946 to those corresponding to the new

site, the annual precipitation totals prior to 1946 should be multiplied by the
ratio of the two curves. That is, all annual totals before 1946 must be
multiplied by the ratio 1.05/1.44.

INTENSITY, DURATION AND FREQUENCY OF RAINFALL

➢ One of the most important rainfall characteristics is rainfall intensity,

usually expressed in millimeters per hour (mm/hr). Very intense storms are
not necessarily more frequent in areas having a high total annual rainfall.
Storms of high intensity generally last for fairly short periods and cover
small areas. Storms covering large areas are seldom of high intensity but
may last several days. The infrequent combination of relatively high
intensity and long duration gives large total amounts of rainfall. These
storms do much erosion damage and may cause devastating floods. These
unusually heavy storms are generally associated with warm-front
precipitation. They are most apt to occur when the rate of frontal movement
has decreased, when other fronts may pass by at close intervals, when

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 stationary fronts persist in an area for a considerable period, or when tropical
cyclones move into the area.

Intense rainstorms of varying duration occur from time to time over almost all
portions of the Philippine Archipelago, especially the province of Northern Samar;
however, the probability of these heavy rainfalls varies with the locality. The first step in
designing a water-control or impounding facility is to determine the probable
recurrence of storms of different intensity and duration so that an economically sized
structure can be provided. For most purposes, it is not feasible to provide a structure that
will withstand the greatest rainfall that has ever occurred. It is often more economical to
have a periodic failure than to design for a very intense storm. Where human life is
endangered, however, the design should handle runoff from storms even greater than have
been recorded. For these purposes, data providing return periods of storms of various
intensities and durations are essential. This return period, also called recurrence
interval, is defined as the period within which the depth of rainfall for a given duration
will be equaled or exceeded once on the average.

➢ A general expression for rainfall intensity as a function of rainfall duration

and return period is given by

i = K (Tx/tn)

where i is the rainfall intensity (mm/hr) , t is the rainfall duration (min), T is

the return period (years), and K, x, & n are constants for a given
geographical location.

In the Philippines, the Hydrology and Flood Forecast Center of the

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) utilized the “Analysis of Extreme Value”
procedure developed by E. J. Gumbel from a study of the frequency of large
floods to estimate the rainfall intensity – duration – frequency data of the
country. Tables 3.1 and 3.2 present the rainfall intensity – duration –
frequency data for the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP), Catarman,
Northern Samar, based on 12 years of records.

HYDROLOGIC FREQUENCY ANALYSIS

➢ It has been recognized that hydrologic events such as rainfall and streamflow
exhibit a high degree of variability. This variability has, in the past, led to
the extensive study of hydrologic processes.
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 ➢ Hydrologic processes are generally analyzed probabilistically. This deals
with the estimate of the chance or likelihood of occurrence of a given event
by determining the frequency curve of best fit to samples of hydrologic data,
such as rainfall. A frequency curve relates the magnitude of a variable to
its frequency of occurrence. The curve is an estimate of the cumulative
distribution of the population of that variable and is prepared from a sample
of data. Frequency curves are widely used in predicting droughts, storages,
rainfall, wave height and water quality. Knowledge of the frequency of
hydrologic events is necessary for the design of structures such as flood
control reservoirs, open ditches, farm ponds, tile drainage systems, bridge
openings, and many other water carrying structures.

➢ There are a number of frequency distributions used in hydrology. Among

these are the normal, log-normal, gamma, Poisson and other Pearson types
of distribution functions. For this course, only the normal distribution will
be discussed because many phenomenon in nature follow this distribution
and hydrologic events are not exceptions. The variability of the normal
distribution is indicated by the slope of the cumulative distribution; that is,
the greater the variability, the greater the slope. The standard deviation is
equal to the difference between magnitudes at probabilities of 16% and 50%
or 50% and 84%. The mean of the distribution occur at 50% probability.

➢ The procedure involved here is called hydrologic frequency analysis. By

this method, the rainfall data are treated as statistical variables. The
frequency distribution of the data is examined and the magnitude of the
variable of a given recurrence interval or probability of occurrence is
determined. Recall that the recurrence interval (T) is defined as the
average interval of time within which the magnitude of a given variable is
equaled or exceeded. Conversely, the probability of occurrence (P) is
defined as the percentage of observed events that are equal to or greater than,
a given event within a period of time. Recurrence interval and probability
of occurrence are inversely proportional as expressed in the simple equation

P = 1/T

The steps involved in hydrologic frequency analysis may be outlined

as:
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 1. Selection of data. There are two methods of data selection, the annual
series and the partial duration series. In the annual series, only the
largest event for each year is selected for analysis. When design is
controlled by the most critical conditions, such as the design of spillway,
the annual series should be used. With the partial duration series, all
values above a given base are chosen regardless of the number within a
given time period. The partial duration series should be used if the
second largest value (or lower) of the year could affect the design of
structures. An example is the design of farm drainage in which the
damage may be due to the extent of flooding, which in turn may be
caused largely by associated peak flows. The annual and partial duration
series of data selection give essentially identical results for recurrence
intervals greater than ten (10) years.

2. Determination of statistical parameters. Following the selection of

data, the next step is to determine values of the statistical parameters for
the analysis. The different methods of analysis will involve the
following:

a. Rank the events from the highest to the lowest with the largest event
being given a rank, m = 1; the second largest event, m = 2; etc.

b. Compute the arithmetic mean (M)

M=X/N

where X = magnitude of variable or event and N = sample size.

c. Compute the standard deviation (S)

 X2 – (X)2 / N
S=
N–1

d. Use an arithmetic-probability plotting paper to plot the mean (M) at 50%

probability (P = 0.5), the value of M + S at 15.9% probability (P =
0.159) and the value of M – S at 84.1% probability (P = 0.841). These
three points should form a straight line.

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 3. Fitting of data. To get a rough estimate of the goodness of fit of the
distribution to the data, plot the probability of occurrence (P) of the events
using the equation:

P = m / (N + 1)

The goodness of fit in this case is usually an eyeball estimate. Where

the fit is satisfactory, the resulting straight line fits the data and this may be
used for predicting the frequency of occurrence of an event of a given
magnitude.

POINT RAINFALL ANALYSIS

➢ For example, for the given rain gage chart, representative points were
selected. The cumulative rainfall and time for these points were obtained
and tabulated (Table 3.3). The time interval between two representative
points and the rainfall during the time interval were determined and used to
compute the rainfall intensity for said interval.

➢ From the rain gage chart analysis, the maximum rainfall intensity at different
time durations can be calculated by the weighted average. Mass rainfall
curves, required for some types of analyses, may be obtained by plotting the
cumulative rainfall against cumulative time while rainfall intensity
histograms can be drawn by plotting a bar graph of rainfall intensity versus
its time increment (Fig. 3.5).

Table 3.3. Rain gage chart analysis.

Time Cumulative Cumulative Rainfall Time Rainfall Intensity

(AM) Rainfall Time During Interval for Interval
(mm) (min) Interval (mm) (min) (mm/hr)
6:50 0 0
1 10 6
7:00 1 10
10 10 60
7:10 11 20
11 5 132
7:15 22 25
46 20 138
7:35 68 45
19 10 114
7:45 87 55

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 31 40 47
8:25 118 95
6 45 8
9:10 124 140
6 100 4
10:50 130 240

CLASSIFICATION OF RAINFALL EVENTS

➢ Since no two rainfall events have exactly the same time-intensity

relationships, it is often convenient to group storms with regard to their
characteristics. The most common characteristics used in such groupings
are the intensity of the rain and the pattern of the rainfall intensity histogram.

➢ The pattern of a storm is determined by the arrangement of the rainfall

intensity histogram. Storm patterns are important because they are one of
the factors determining the shape of the runoff hydrograph. The different
storm patterns are shown in Fig. 3.6. The advanced pattern of rainfall brings
higher intensities when the infiltration rate is the greatest, thus causing some
reduction in the runoff peaks. On the other hand, the delayed pattern causes
higher runoff peaks, as the high intensities occur when the infiltration is at a
minimum and depressional storage has been largely satisfied. In general,
the cold front produces a storm of an advanced type, and the warm front a
uniform or intermediate pattern.

3.6.6 ESTIMATING AVERAGE RAINFALL DEPTH OVER AREA

➢ Most hydrologic and agronomic problems require the estimation of the

average rainfall depth over an area such as a watershed and a cropped area.
The usual procedure for doing this is to extrapolate gage measurements to
areal averages. The most common methods for accomplishing this include:

1. Arithmetic Averages. The simplest of the area averaging methods, this

involves averaging arithmetically all the rain amounts measured by the
rain gages within the area. This method, however, assumes uniform gage
coverage of the area and linear variations in rainfall in between any two
gaging stations.

2. Thiessen Method. The method assumes that the rainfall in an area may
be taken as similar to that recorded in the nearest gaging station. The

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 location of the rain gages in and around the area of interest are first
plotted and straight lines connecting neighboring stations are then drawn.
On each of these lines, perpendicular bisectors are drawn resulting in the
formations of polygon referred to as Thiessen polygons. Any area within
a polygon is physically nearest to the gaging station enclosed by that
polygon and, hence, assumed to have rainfall characteristics similar to
that recorded in that particular rain gage. The average rainfall over the
area is then estimated as the area weighted average rainfall of all the
polygons.

3. Isohyetal Method. In this method, the rainfall depths recorded in all the
stations in and around an area of interest are plotted on a map of desirable
scale. By interpolation, lines of equal rainfall depths or isohyets are then
plotted. In plotting the isohyets, considerations may be given to various
factors influencing the precipitation over an area (e.g., orographic
effects). The rainfall within an area enclosed by two adjacent isohyets
is taken as the average value of the two isohyets. Hence, the average
rainfall over an area is the area weighted average rainfall of all the area
enclosed by two adjacent isohyets.

➢ In Table 3.4, the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the
above-mentioned methods of estimating the average precipitation over an area
are tabulated. Figure 3.7, in the succeeding page, illustrates the use of the three
method.

Teaching Manual in Hydrology / MLTAPONG 2022 76

 Table 3.4. Comparison of the commonly used methods for
determining the average rainfall over an area.

Method of ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

Determining
Average Rainfall
over Area
Arithmetic Average 1. Fast and easy.
2. Objectives
3. Accurate to extent
controlled by gage
density.
4. Subject to only slight error
in computation.
1. Ignores orographic
effects.
2. Uses only stations in the
basin.
3. Gives poor results if
stations unequally
distributed (which is the
general case).

Thiessen Method 1. Stations weighted 1. Slow.

according to area 2. Orography generally
controlled. ignored.
2. Utilizes stations outside 3. Stations have fixed areas
basin. of control.
3. Objective. 4. Requires more
4. Requires some skills at computations. Therefore
drawing Thiessen subject to more errors.
polygons.

Isohyetal Method 1. Possible to account for 1. Subjective.

topography. 2. Slow.
2. Gives best results (most 3. Requires some training
accurate). and skill.
3. Takes advantage of 4. Subject to possible large
unequal gage density. errors due to number of
4. Utilizes stations out-side computations.
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.

Teaching Manual in Hydrology / MLTAPONG 2022 77

 Fig. 3.7. Sample procedures in determining average rainfall over area.

Teaching Manual in Hydrology / MLTAPONG 2022 78