PRECIPITATION

PRECIPITATION

Precipitation is the release of water from the atmosphere to reach the

surface of the earth.
Conditions that need to be met for precipitation to form:

❑ Cooling of the atmosphere

❑ Condensation onto nuclei
❑ Growth of the water/ice droplets
 FORMS OF PRECIPITATION
D
R G S
R S H
I L L
A N A
Z A E
I O I
Z Z E
N W L
L E T
E
 RAINFALL
CHARACTERISTICS

❖Amount
-is an accumulation of volume or a product of
intensity times duration
❖Duration
-is the length of time that the rainfall occurs
❖Intensity
-is the ratio of the total amount of rain falling during
a given period to the duration of the period
❖Return Period
-is how often rainfall occurs at a particular amount or
intensity and duration
HYETOGRAPH

Hyetograph is a plot of the (Sample hyetograph from ResearchGate.net)

intensity of rainfall against the
time interval.
PHILIPPINES AVERAGE PRECIPITATION
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT

Rain Gauge
-also called udometers,
pluviometer, ombrometer, and
hyetometer
-a device used for measuring
precipitation
-a cylindrical-vessel assembly kept
in the open to collect rain
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT

Proper Placement of a Rain Gauge

✓The general rule of thumb is to keep
the rain gauge twice the distance away
from the height of the nearest
obstruction (e.g., placing a gauge 20
feet away from 10-foot tall trees).
✓Place the gauge at least 2-5 feet off the
ground on the side of a pole, with the
top of the cylinder several inches
above the top of the pole to prevent
splash back.
✓Make sure the top of the rain gauge is
level.
✓Keep the gauge away from sources of
artificial precipitation that can affect
the readings, such as sprinklers.
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT

Sources of Error in Raingauges

1. Losses due to evaporation
2. Losses due to wetting of the gauge
3. Over-measurement due to splash
from the surrounding area
4. Under-measurement due to
turbulence around the gauge
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE
1. Nonrecording Gauges
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE
1. Nonrecording Gauges
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT

Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)

(a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG)
-is used by all professional weather
services in manned stations
-is the most accurate way of
directly measuring rainfall
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
National Weather Service
8 Inch Standard Rain Gauge
(United States)

Four Main Components:

▪ Overflow Can
-it catches all the water that overflows from the measuring
tube and can hold a maximum of 20 inches of liquid
▪ Collector Funnel
-the component that catches the rain and is 8 inches in
diameter
▪ Measuring Tube
-a tube housed in the overflow can
-made of either plastic or brass
-water flows directly into it from the Collector Funnel
▪ Measuring Stick
-a stick with distinct white markings used to measure
rainfall by dipping it through the funnel opening to the
bottom of the measuring tube and record the reading
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
Met Office 5 Inch Standard Rain Gauge
(United Kingdom)

Three Main Components:

• Collector Funnel
-catches the rain and is 5 inches in diameter
• Glass Container
-Water flows directly into this container from the
collector funnel
• Graduated Measuring Tube
-measures the amount of rainfall collected
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE
1. Nonrecording Gauges
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge
-is an automated rain meter that uses a
"tipping bucket" mechanism to
measure rainfall. It is used by
professional weather services' remote
weather stations
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE
1. Nonrecording Gauges
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
Weighing Bucket Rain 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.
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE
1. Nonrecording Gauges
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
Natural Syphon Rain Gauge
-also called Float Type RG
-for this type, a float is provided at the
bottom of container, and this float raises
as the water level rises in the container.
Its movement being recorded by a pen
moving on a recording drum actuated by
a clock work.
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
TYPES OF RAIN GAUGE Telemetering Rain Gauge
1. Nonrecording Gauges -a recording type rain gauge which
contains electronic units to transfer
a) Standard Rain Gauge (SRG)
data to the base station, both at regular
a.k.a. Graduated Cylinder RG interval or continuous
2. Recording Gauges
a) Tipping Bucket Type
b) Weighing Bucket Type
c) Natural Syphon Type
d) Telemetering Raingauges
 PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
OTHER METHODS
1. Radar (Radio Detection And
Ranging)
-Looks from the earth up into the
atmosphere and tries to estimate
the amount of precipitation falling
over an area.
2. Satellite Remote Sensing
- looks from space down towards
the earth surface and attempts to
estimate the amount of
precipitation falling over an area