Chapter – 2: Precipitation

Objectives:- at the end of this chapter learners will be able to

– Explain the meaning of precipitation

– Know the forms and types of precipitation

– Understand the process of rain formation and its types

– Know the methods of rainfall measurement , analysis and

ways of presenting it
2.1 Definition of precipitation
 The term precipitation denotes all forms of water that
reach to the surface of the earth from the atmosphere
 The usual forms are rainfall, snowfall, hail, frost and
dew
 Of all these, only the first two contribute significant
amounts of water
 Rainfall being the predominant forms of precipitation
causing stream flow, especially the flood flow in the
majority of rivers
2.1. Process of precipitation formation

 Water vapor in the atmosphere is the source for

precipitation.
 Four factors responsible to generate precipitation:

1) Continuous influx of moisture

2) Lifting air mass
3) Presences of Condensation nuclei
4) Cloud droplet growth
Condensation : is the process in w/c water vapor is converted into its
liquid or solid state
Conditions for condensation

i.Presence of water vapor in the atmosphere

• An adequate amount of water vapor is required to bring

the saturation of air
• There are four main ways to which water vapor is added to the
atmosphere:-
Daytime heating evaporating water from the surface of
oceans, water bodies or wet land
Transpiration from plants
Cool, dry air moving over warmer water
Lifting air over mountains 4
ii. Presence of condensation nuclei
• Dusts and particles in the atmosphere act as a nuclei of
condensation
• Water vapor can only deposit and condense on them
as these are hydroscopic in nature
• As these particles are microscopic or sub microscopic
in size they are called
•Hygroscopic nuclei or
•Condensation nuclei

• Generally there are two types of nuclei’s in the atmosphere

that are responsible for the formation of water
droplets These are:-
1.Condensation nuclei or aerosol particles
• Condensation nuclei range in size from a radius of 10−3μm for
small ions to 10μm for large salt particles
•The concentration of aerosols in time and space varies considerably.
5
• Condensation nuclei usually consist of:
– Products of combustion,( e.g., CO2)
– Oxides of Nitrogen, and
– Salt particles this one is most effective and may result in
condensation with relative humidity as low as 75%

2.Freezing nuclei

• Freezing nuclei usually consists of clay minerals, (kaolin) being

the most common
• Freezing nuclei serve only to:
– Nucleate the liquid phase and thus( because freezing happens in
liquid phase)
– Initiate the growth of ice particles
iii. Cooling of air
• Cooling of air up to and below dew point is necessary
for saturation of atmospheric air with water vapor
• Cooling is one way of saturating a parcel of air
• There are four main mechanisms for cooling the air to its dew point:

1. Adiabatic cooling occurs when air rises and expands. The air can rise due to:
– Convection,
– large-scale atmospheric motions, or
– A physical barrier such as a mountain (orographic lift).
2. Conductive cooling occurs when the air comes into contact with a colder
surface, usually by;
– Being blown from one surface to another,
– For example from a liquid water surface to colder land.
3. Radiational cooling occurs due to the emission of infrared radiation,
either by the air or by the surface underneath
4. Evaporative cooling occurs when moisture is added to the air through
evaporation, which forces the air temperature to cool.
• The general formation of Precipitation takes place
when:-
– The vapor will be converted in to clouds through a process
called condensation
– Eventually clouds with favorable atmospheric conditions
changed in to precipitation
Water bodies and land radiant energy water vapor
condensation nuclei clouds saturation precipitation
Clouds
• Clouds form when moist air is lifted and cooled
• Lifting occurs when
– Air rises over low pressure areas
– Is carried up inclined frontal surfaces
– Is carried upward by convective currents that originate at the
heated ground, or
– Flows over mountains
• Once cloud droplets are formed, their growth depends on
– Hygroscopic and surface tension forces
– The humidity of the air
– Rates of transfer of vapor to the water droplets and
– The latent heat of condensation released

• Clouds are visual indicators of physical processes

taking place in the atmosphere.

• Clouds are classified according to

– Their appearance and
– The approximate altitude of their bases
• Why clouds float?
– Clouds are made of water.
– Even the smallest fluffy (feathery) cloud in the sky weighs many tones.

• How does all this water stay up there?

– The reason is that the water is in the form of tiny water
droplets and ice crystals.
– Just like tiny dust particles suspended in air, these droplets and
crystals are far too small to feel the effects of gravity.

• Tiny droplets in clouds join together to form larger drops.

• Updrafts, which are winds that move upwards, help
keep these drops from falling.
• Eventually, when thousands of droplets combine, the drops
may become large enough to fall to the ground … as rain.
2.3. Types of Precipitation

There are various approaches of classifying precipitation

A. According to its appearance:

1. Liquid precipitation

(a) Rain: drops of liquid water (>0. 5 mm; max 6 mm)

(b) Drizzle: a light steady rain in fine drops (0.5 mm) &
intensity < 1 mm/hr
(c) Dew: moisture condensed from the atmosphere in
small drops upon cool surfaces
(d) Fog-drip (occult precipitation): accumulation of fog
droplets on vegetation and other surfaces
2. Solid/Frozen precipitation

(a) Snow grain: small crystals of ice; solid equivalent of

dizzle
(b) Snow flakes: agglomeration of grains; solid
equivalent of rain; ice crystals fused
together
(c) Sleet: frozen rain drops while falling through air at
subfreezing temperature
(d) Graupel: pellets of ice 2-5 mm formed by collusion
of crystals and rain when cloud temperature
are near the freezing point
(e) Hoar frost: solid equivalent of dew; formed by
sublimation of water vapor onto cold surfaces
as feature-like crystals
(f) Rime (occult precipitation): freezing of water
droplets from fog onto cold surfaces;
(g) Hail: spherical lumps of ice composed of concentric
layers
☞ ☞☞ formed in warmest season & melt
immediately upon contact with ground
B. According to its place of origin

(a) Adjacent to cold ground: dew; fog-drip, frost

(b) Above condensation level in the atmosphere,

where water vapor, in air below the dew point
temperature, condenses onto hygroscopic nuclei or
sublimates to form ice crystals
C. According to the mechanism of lifting air mass

1) Convective precipitation

2) Cyclonic/Frontal precipitation

1) Orographic precipitation
1. Convective precipitation

 Occurs when warm, moist air is heated at the ground

surface, rises, cools, and condenses to form
water droplets, raindrops, and eventually
rainfall

 This begins when the surface is heated unequally

 Usually occurs as high intensity, short duration storm

or thunderstorm over relatively small areas
Graphical representation of convectional precipitation
Basic principles for formation of convectional precipitation

Convectional precipitation results from the heating of the earth's

surface.
The warm ground heats the air over it.
 As the air warms, the air molecules begin to move further apart.
With increased distance between molecules, the molecules are less
densely packed.

Thus, the air becomes “lighter” and rises rapidly into the atmosphere.

 As the air rises, it cools.

18
2.Cyclonic/Frontal precipitation

 Occurs along frontal boundaries between air masses

with different temperature and moisture
characteristics

 Cold, dry air is denser than warmer moist air

 When these air masses collide along frontal boundary,

the warmer, moist air masses are lifted over
cooler, drier ones

 The boundary between these air masses is called front

Two types of fronts

1) Cold-front: when cold air moves into a region of

warm air

2) Warm-front: when cold air exits a region which is

then occupied by warm air

☞☞☞In either case, the warmer air is lifted and cooled

Warm-front precipitation:
• Precipitation is light to moderate and covers a large
area ahead of the moving front

Cold-front precipitation:
• Showery and more localized in the vicinity of front

☞☞☞ Cyclonic precipitation is the most common type

and takes place all over the earth
Graphical representation of cyclonic or frontal precipitation
3. Orographic precipitation

 Occurs when wind moves moist air up and over a

mountain barrier, moist air arrives at the coast
after passing a large ocean surface

 When the air rises on the windward side of the range,

the air is cooled

 As air continues up the slope, precipitation continues

to fall

 Is common type precipitation in mountainous areas

Graphical representation of orographic precipitation
2.4 Measurement of Rainfall

• Rainfall measurement is useful to know

– The amount of water in a given area

• Since rainfall is the major sources of water used for

various purposes, knowledge about
– The amount of rainfall
– The intensity and
– Distribution of rainfall is extremely useful
Precipitation is expressed in terms of depth to which
rainfall water would stand on an area if all the rain
were collected on it. i.e.,

 Precipitation is measured as depth of water equivalent

from that would accumulate on a horizontal surface if
there are no losses

 It is measured as the vertical depth of water expressed in

millimeters
27
 Rainfall at a place can be collected and measured
in the instruments called rain gauges.

 The types of instruments generally used for

measurement of rainfall are:-

i. Non-recording rain gauge

ii. Recording rain gauge
iii.Weather radars
i. Non-recording gauge

The non-recording type rain gauges are used for the

measurement of the amount of rainfall by
collecting rain water over a period of time

29
ii. Recording gauge

Recording gauges produce a continuous

plot of rainfall against time to provide
valuable data of:

 Intensity
 Duration,
 Onset
 Cessation and
 Cumulative of rainfall for
hydrological analysis

31
The following are some of the commonly used
recording rain gauges.

1. Tipping bucket type

2. Weighing bucket type

3. Syphon type gauge/float type

2.5 Site for a Rain Gauge Station

While selecting a site for the rain gauge station and

installing the rain gauge, the following points should
be kept in mind

1.The site should be in an open space having an area of at

least 5.5 m x 5.5 m.

2. The distance of the instrument from the nearest

obstruction should not be less than 30 m or twice
the height of the obstruction

33
3. A site that is sheltered from high winds should be
chosen

4. The rain gauge, as far as possible, should not be

installed on the top or the side of the hill. If
unavoidable, the site which is best protected from
high winds should be chosen

5. A fence should be erected around the rain gauge

station to protect the gauge from cattle, dogs, etc
•However, the distance of the fence should not be
less than twice its height
6. The gauge must always be mounted firmly so that it
cannot be disturbed even by the strongest wind
in that region.

7. The gauge should be set as near the ground surface as

possible to reduce wind effects.
• But at the same time, it should be sufficiently high
to prevent splashing of surface water into it
•The standard gauge is fixed such that the height of
the rim above the ground is always 30 cm.

8. The gauge should have a level horizontal catch

surface.
2.6 Rain-gauge Network Design

• Since the catching area of a rain gauge is very small compared

to the areal extent of a storm it is obvious that to get a
representative picture of a storm over a catchment the
number of rain gauges should be as large as possible

• That means the catchment area per gauge should be small

• On the other hand, economic consideration to large extent

and other considerations such as topography,
accessibility etc to some extent restricts number of
gauges to be maintained

• Hence one aims at an optimum density of gauges from which

reasonably accurate information about the storms can be
obtained
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
recommends the following gauge densities.

 In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical

zones
– Ideal if one station represents for 600 – 900km2
– Acceptable if one station represents for 900 – 3000km2

 In mountainous regions of temperate, Mediterranean and

tropical zones
– Ideal if one station represents for 100 – 250km2
– Acceptable if one station represents for 250 – 1000km2

 In arid and polar zones one station should stand only for 1500
– 10 000km2 depending up on the feasibility.
• If there are already some rain gauge stations in a catchment, the
optimal number of stations that should exist to have an
assigned percentage of error in the estimation of mean
rainfall is obtained by statistical analysis as:
N = (Cv/ε) 2
Where N is optimal number of stations
ε is allowable degree of error in the estimate of the
mean rainfall
Cv is coefficient of variation of the rainfall values at the
existing m stations in %
• If there are m stations in the catchment and each recording rainfall
values P1, P2…Pm is at a known time, the coefficient of
variability Cv is calculated as:

C v  100  m 1
P

 P  which is the slandered deviation(S)

m
2
P
Where i

  i 1
 m 
m 1   Pi
m 1

P   i 1 
 m 
Pi is the precipitation amount in the ith stations and  
which is the
 

mean precipitation.
• In computing N from the above equation it is usual to take the allowable degree of
error (ε) as 10%.

• It is seen that if the value of ε is small, the number of rain gauge stations will be
more
Example 2.4: a number of existing rain gauge stations in a
certain area are equal to eight and the mean annual rainfall at
each station is 1000, 950, 900, 850, 800, 700, 600 and
400mm. the permissible error is given as 6%. Depending on
this data estimate the gauge density.

100  950  900  850  800  700  600  400mm

Solution:- P
8
 775mm

 
1000  775 2   950  775
2
  900  775
2
 ....   400  775
2
 200mm
8 1

  200mm 2
C v
    100 
P 775mm
 100  25.8
While  Cv 
m   25.8 
 
2

 19
    6 
 

• 19 is the total number of rain gauge which is required for the

area but the area has only 8 existing gauges. To bring this
number into the required optimum number 19 – 8 = 11
additional gauges are required.
 2.7 Average Rainfall Over An Area

P1

P3 P5
P2 Average
Rainfall

P4
P6
• Representative value for one area

• Used to estimate stream flow

• Used to compute peak discharge, etc.
41
 Cont.....

Methods of Computation
1. Arithmetic Mean Method
Arithmetic Mean Method
Thiessen Method Pav = 1/n (P1 + P2 + . . . + Pn)
Pav = Average rainfall over the area
Isohyetal Method
Pi = Rainfall at different gauges
n = Number of gauges in the area

The method is used for:

• Flat areas
• Uniformly distributed gauges over the area
• Rain collected at different stations not varying widely from the
mean 42
 Cont....

2. Thiessen Method
•Handles non uniformly distributed gauges
•Makes use of weighing factors for each gauge

Steps P1

P2
Step 1: Draw the area
concerned to a suitable
scale, showing its
P4 P5 boundary, locations of the
P3
raingauges in the area and
outside but close to the
P6 boundary
P7

43
 Cont.....

Thiessen Method : Steps

P1

P2
Step 2: Join location of
the raingauges to form
P4
a network of triangles
P5
P3

P6

P7

44
 Cont......

Thiessen Method : Steps

P1

P2
Step 3: Draw perpendicular
bisectors to the triangle sides.
P4 These bisectors form polygons
P5
P3
around the stations

P6

P7

45
 Cont....

Thiessen Method : Steps

Step 4: Delineate the formed
polygons and measure their
P1 areas using a planimeter or by
A1 converting them into smaller
A2 P2 regular geometric shapes (i.e.
triangles, squares, rectangles,
A4
etc.)
P4
A3 P5
A5
P3

A6
Step 5:
5 Compute the average
P6 A7
rainfall using the following
P7 formula
P1xA1 + P2 xA2 +... + PnxAn
Pav =
A1 + A2 + .... + An

46
 Cont....

Thiessen Method : Example

P1

Observed Polygon Area Pi x Ai P2

Rainfall(mm), Pi (Sq. Km), Ai (Col 1 x Col 2)
10 25 250
15 125 1875
20 80 1600 P4
P5
17 90 1530
25 120 3000 P3
40 115 4600
12 130 1560
Total 685 14415

P6

P7

Pav P1xA1 + P2 xA2 +... + P7xA7 14415

= = = 21.04 mm 47
A1 + A2 + .... + A7 685
 Cont.....

3. Isohyetal Method
Isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall magnitude

0 0

10
•Most accurate 0
0 0
method
0
• Incorporates the 1 4 16 11
orographic effect 11
10 11 45
Isohyetes 19 62 9
45 10
27
•All figures are in mm
25
10
25
65

50
50
Monthly isohyetal map (sample)
48
 Cont....

Steps
Step 1: Draw the area under study to scale and
mark rain gauges on it. Put at each of the raingauge
location the recorded values of rainfall at the station,
for the period within which the average is required to
be determined.

Step 2: Draw the isohyetes of various values by

considering the point rainfall data as guidelines and
interpolating between them. Also, incorporate the
knowledge of orographic effects.

49
 Cont......

Isohyetal Method: Steps

Step 3: Determine the area between each pair of the isohyet

lines, either by a planimeter or by converting the areas into
smaller regular geometric shapes.

Step 4: Calculate the average rainfall using the following formula:

A1 (P1 + P2)/2 + A2 (P2 + P3)/2 + . . . + An-1(Pn-1 + Pn)/2
Pav =
(A1 + A2 + . . . + An)
Pi = Value of Isohyet lines
Ai = Area between pair of isohyet lines.

50
 Cont....

Isohyetal Method: Example

25
16.5

50
Calculate the average rainfall over the area given
in the figure using Isohyetal method. 48.7

75
37
Isohyet Area Average Rainfall volume

0
10
(mm) Between Rainfall (col 2 x col3) 68.3
Isohyets (mm) (mm-Sq.Km)
(sq.Km)

5
12
125 33.28 125.0 4,160.00
100 197.12 112.5 22,176.00 39 75.7 125
75 296.96 87.5 25,984.00
50 501.76 62.5 31,360.00 49.5
25 494.11 37.5 18,529.13
less 25 79.36 21.0 1,666.56
Total 1602.59 103,875.69

44.5
Pav = 103, 875.69/1,602.59 = 64.82mm

51
For the problem shown in Figure
4, the following may be
assumed to be the areas
enclosed between two consecutive
isohyets and are calculated as
under:
Area I = 40 km2
Area II = 80 km2
Area III = 70 km2
Area IV = 50 km2
Total catchment area = 240 km2
The areas II and III fall between two
isohyets each. Hence, these areas
may
be thought of as corresponding to the For Area I, we would expect rainfall to be more than 15mm but
following rainfall depths: since there is
no record, a rainfall depth of 15mm is accepted. Similarly, for Area
Area II : Corresponds to (10 + 15)/2 IV, a
= 12.5 mm rainfall depth rainfall depth of 5mm has to be taken.
Area III : Corresponds to (5 + 10)/2 = Hence, the average precipitation by the isohyetal method is
7.5 mm rainfall depth calculated to be
40×15+80×12.5 + 70×7.5 + 50×5
240
= 9.89 mm
Examples 2.7: Point rainfalls due to a storm at several rain-gauge stations in a basin are shown in
Fig. 2.10. Determine the mean areal depth of rainfall over the basin by the three methods.

Solution (i) Arithmetic average method

ΣP1 = sum of the 15 station rainfalls.

(ii) Thiessen polygon method: The Thiessen polygons are constructed as shown in Fig.
2.10 and the polygonal areas are planimetered and the mean areal depth of rainfall is
worked out below:
(iii) Isohyetal method: the isohyets are drawn as shown in Fig. 2.11 and the mean areal depth of rainfall is worked out
below:
Example 2.8 The area shown in below is composed of a square plus an equilateral triangular
plot of side 10 km. The annual precipitations at the rain-gauge stations located at the four
corners and centre of the square plot and apex of the triangular plot are indicated in figure.
Find the mean precipitation over the area by Thiessen polygon method, and compare with the
arithmetic mean Solution The Thiessen polygon is constructed by drawing perpendicular
bisectors to the lines joining the rain-gauge stations as shown in Figure below.
• The weighted mean precipitation is computed
in the following table:
• Area of square plot = 10 × 10 = 100 km2

• Difference = 50 km2
• Area of each corner triangle in the square plot
= 50/4 = 12.5 km2
2.8 Rainfall data analysis
2.8.1 Variability of annual rainfall

General rule:
•The smaller the average annual rainfall, the higher is its variability.

Annual Rainfall Variability

High
Low
High Low
Average Annual Rainfall
60
 Cont.....

Annual Rainfall as Percentage of the Mean

For Mekele, Ethiopia
250,0
Mean Annual Rainfall = 452
Percentage of Mean

200,0 mm/a
Altitude = 2212m
150,0
Latitude = 13.30 N
100,0
Longitude = 39.29 E
50,0

0,0
1

73

77

81

7
7

8
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

Years 61
2.8.2 Estimation of Missing Rainfall Data
•Maximum permissible precipitation
Arithmetic Average Method will be used when the normal Compute % differences
annual precipitation at each of these near by Diff. =|Ni-Nx|/Nx x100
stations is within ten percent of that for the station
with the missing record
Px = 1/n (P1 + P2 + ... +Pn)
Px = missing rainfall data at station x
Pi = rainfall data at the neighbouring station i
n = number of neighbouring raingauges NO Normal
IsIs Diff
Diff.<
<
10%
10% Ratio
Normal Ratio Method when the normal annual precipitation ?
at any of the index stations differs from that at the
station in question by more than 10%
Px = Nx/n (N1/P1 + N2/P2 +. . .+ Nn/Pn)
YES
Px =missing rainfall data at station x
Ni=normal annual rainfall at station i Arithmetic 62
Average
Example : Estimation of Missing Rainfall Data, Stations from Ethiopia

Station Name Monthly data, Normal annual Rainfall 10% of Nx = 92.01/10

July, 1980 (cm) (cm)
= 9.2cm then, the
A 91.11 80.97 •Maximum permissible precipitation
= 92.01 – 9.201= 82.81cm >
80.97, 67.59 &76.68
B 72.23 67.59 therefore, normal ratio method will
be used

C 79.89 76.68

D x 92.01

Px = 92.01/3[80.97/91.11 + 67.59/72.23 + 76.89/79.89] = 85.26cm

Px = 85.26cm

63
 Cont....
Example : Estimation of Missing Rainfall Data, Data from India

Station Id. Rainfall at one Normal

Storm event(mm) annual
Rainfall 10% of Nx = 978/10
A 107 1200
= 97.8mm then, the
•Maximum permissible precipitation = 978 –
B 89 935 97.8= 880mm < 1200, 935 &1120
therefore, arthimeticaverage
method will be used to get the missig
C 122 1120 data

D X 978

Px = 1/3 (107 + 89 + 122)

Px64= 106mm
2.8.3 Frequency analysis

Design Rainfall: the total amount of rain during the cropping season at
which or above which the catchment area will provide sufficient
runoff to satisfy the crop water requirements.

Moisture stress in
plants

Damage to
structures

Design Rainfall
Actual Rainfall
65
Cont....

Probability of exceedance (P):

Exceedance
Exceedance Return
ReturnPeriod
Period(Tr)
(Tr) Rainfall
Rainfallequalled
equalled
the probability in which a Probability(P),
Probability(P),%% Years
Years ororexceeded
exceeded
certain event (rainfall) is 100
100 11 Every
EveryYear
Year
equalled or exceeded
8080 1.25
1.25 Once
Onceinin1.25
1.25years
years
(4(4times
timesinin55years)
years)
7575 1.33
1.33 Once
Onceinin1.33
1.33years
years
(3(3times
timesinin44years)
years)
Return period (recurrence 6767 1.5
1.5 Once
Onceinin1.5
1.5 years
years
interval),
interval) Tr: the average (2(2times
timesinin33years)
years)
interval in years within
11 100
100 Once
Onceinin100
100years
years
which a given event will be
equalled or exceeded

66
 Cont...

Empirical Method: Steps

Step 1: Obtain annual rainfall totals for the

cropping season from the area of concern

Step 2: Arrange the rainfall data in the descending

order of magnitude

Step 3: Give ranks (m) to each ordered data. Rank of

1 for the largest value and n for the smallest
value, where n is the number of data points Rank:
Rank 1 2 3 ... n

Step 4: Determine the recurrence interval Tr of each

rainfall value using formula: n= Number of data
m = Rank
Tr = (n + 0.25) / (m - 0.375)

67
Cont....

Steps
Step 5: Compute the probability of exceedance P,
P = 1/Tr = (m - 0.375) / (n + 0.25)

Step 6: Plot the value of P or Tr against the corresponding

magnitude of rainfall data, on probability paper , & fit
a line for the plotted data

Step 7: To determine the design rainfall look the corresponding

value of rainfall for the exceedance probability used. For
Water Harvesting usually 67% is used

68
 Cont....

Example : Frequency Analysis of Annual Rainfall

The annual rainfall totals from a station, Mogadishu (Somalia), for a

period of 32 years are given. Compute the annual rainfall
total corresponding to 67 % & 33% probabilities of
exceedance.

Annual Rainfall at Mogadishu, Somalia

Year 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964

Rainfall 484 529 302 403 960 453 633 489
Year 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
Rainfall 498 395 890 680 317 300 271 655
Year 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
Rainfall 371 255 411 339 660 216 594 544
Year 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
Rainfall 563 526 273 270 423 251 533 531

All Rainfall figures are in mm Source: Critchley & Siegert 1991

69
 Cont.....

Example : Frequency Analysis of Annual Rainfall

Steps: 1. arrange the annual rainfall values in decreasing order

2. give rank, 1 to the highest and 32 for the lowest rainfall figure
3. compute the probability, p , with the given formula

Year R m p Year R m p Year R m p

mm % mm % mm %
1961 960 1 1.9 1958 529 12 36.0 1976 339 23 70.2
1967 890 2 5.0 1982 526 13 39.1 1969 317 24 73.3
1968 680 3 8.1 1965 498 14 42.2 1959 302 25 76.4
1977 660 4 11.2 1964 489 15 45.3 1970 300 26 79.5
1972 655 5 14.3 1957 484 16 48.4 1983 273 27 82.6
1963 633 6 17.4 1962 453 17 51.6 1971 271 28 85.7
1979 594 7 20.5 1985 423 18 54.7 1984 270 29 88.8
1981 563 8 23.6 1975 411 19 57.8 1974 255 30 91.1
1980 544 9 26.7 1960 403 20 60.9 1986 251 31 95.0
1987 533 10 29.8 1966 395 21 64.0 1978 216 32 98.1
1988 531 11 32.9 1973 371 22 67.1

70
 Cont.....

Example : Frequency Analysis of Annual Rainfall

Steps: p = 67%

• plot p against R on a probability paper R = 371mm

• fit the plotted points a line Tr = 100 = 100 =1.5

years
p 67

p = 33%
Tr = 3 years
R = 531mm

71
 t e r n ?
a p ti o
c h ues
t he y q
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