Precipitation and Its Estimation Lecture 5

Precipitation and its
estimation
Abdullah Khan
Dept. of Civil. Engg
1
Outcome of Lecture
◗ After completing this lecture…
◗ The students should be able to:
◗ Understand types of precipitation and its measurement in
field
◗ Understand the concept of temporal and spatial
averaging of precipitation
◗ Apply several methods to spatially average precipitation
◗ Understand data preparation for any water resource
projects
◗ Apply appropriate corrections to data in case of
missing records, errors or inconsistency is present
2
Precipitation
◗ When the water/moisture in the clouds/atmosphere gets too heavy,
the water/moisture falls back to the earth. This is called precipitation.
◗ Types of Precipitation:
◗ Drizzle
◗ Rain
◗ Freezing rain
◗ Sleet
◗ Snow
◗ Hail
Rainfall being the predominant form of precipitation causing

stream flow, especially the flood flow in majority of rivers.Thus,
in this context, rainfall is used synonymously with precipitation.
3
Precipitation: Rainfall
◗ Rain: It is precipitation in the form of water drops of size between
0.5 mm to 7mm
◗ The rainfall is classified into

◗ Light rain – if intensity is trace to 2.5 mm/h
◗ Moderate rain – if intensity is 2.5 mm/hr to 7.5 mm/hr
◗ Heavy rain – above 7.5 mm/hr
◗ Measurement Units:
◗ Amount of precipitation/rain (mm or inch)
◗ It is measure as total depth of rainfall over an area in one day.
◗ Intensity of precipitation/rain (mm/hr or inch/hr)
◗ It is the amount of precipitation at a place per unit time (rain rate).
It is expressed as mm/hr or inch/hr
4
Measurement of Precipitation
◗ Why do we need to measure rainfall?
◗ Agriculture – what to plant in certain areas, where and when to plant,

when to harvest
◗ Horticulture/viticulture - how and when to irrigate
◗ Engineers - to design structures for runoff control i.e. storm-water

drains, bridges etc.
◗ Scientists - hydrological modelling of catchments
5
◗ Method of measuring rainfall:
◗ Instruments for measuring precipitation include rain gauges and

snow gauges, and various types are manufactured according to
the purpose at hand.
◗ Rain gauges are classified into

◗ Non-recording (Manual) and
◗ recording types (Automatic)
Instrument used to collect and measure the precipitation is called rain gauge and the location
at which raingage is located is called gauging station.
6
◗ Non-recording (Manual) types:
◗ Often have a funnel opening into

a cylinder gauge.
◗ Come in a variety of shapes and
sizes
◗ Calculate the rainfall (in mm) by
dividing the volume of water collected
by the area of the opening of the
cup. (The gauge marking often
accounts for this).
7
◗ Non-recording (Manual)
types:
8
◗ Recording (Automatic) types:
Tipping bucket gauges
◗
◗ Weighing type gauges
◗ Float recording gauges
◗ Tipping bucket rain gauge -The bucket tips when precipitation of 0.2
mm,
0.5 mm, 1.0 mm has been collected. Each tip is recorded by a data logger.
9
◗ Weather Station - Records rainfall, but also evaporation, air

pressure, air temperature, wind speed and wind direction (so can
be used to estimate evapo-transpiration)
◗ Radar - Ground-based radar equipment can be used to

determine how much rain is falling and where it is the heaviest.
10
◗ Weather Station -
11
◗ Radar -
12
Raingauge Network
◗ Since the catching area of the raingauge is very small as compared

to the areal extent of the storm, to get representative picture of a
storm over a catchment the number of raingauges should be as
large as possible, i.e. the catchment area per gauge should be small.
◗ There are several factors to be considered to restrict the number

of gauges:
◗ Like economic considerations to a large extent
◗ Topographic & accessibility to some extent.
Catchment area: An extent of land where water from precipitation drains into a
13
body of water
Raingauge Network
◗ World Meteorological Organization ( W M O ) recommendation:
◗ In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical zones

◗ Ideal € 1 station for 600 – 900 km2
◗ Acceptable € 1 station for 900 – 3000 km2
◗ In mountainous regions of temperate , Mediterranean and tropical
zones
◗ Ideal € 1 station for 100 – 250 km2
◗ Acceptable € 1 station for 250 – 1000 km2
◗ In arid and polar zone
◗ 1 station for 1500 – 10,000 km2
◗ 10 % of the raingauges should be self recording to know the intensity of

the rainfall !!
14
Raingauge Network
◗ Placement of rainguages
◗ Gauges are affected by wind pattern, eddies, trees and the
gauge itself, therefore it is important to have the gauge located
and positioned properly.
◗ Raingauges should be
◗ 1m above ground level is standard -
◗ All gauges in a catchment should be the same height
◗ 2 to 4 times the distance away from an isolated object (such as a
tree or building) or in a forest a clearing with the radius at least the
tree height or place the gauge at canopy level
◗ shielded to protect gauge in windy sites or if obstructions are
numerous they will reduce the wind-speed, turbulence and
eddies.
15
Raingauge Network
Rainguage with wind

shield
16
Raingauge Network
 For sloping ground the gauge should be placed with the
opening parallel to the ground
 The rainfall catch volume (mm3) is then divided by the opening area
that the rain can enter
17
Sources of Errors
◗ Instrument error
◗ Observer error
◗ Errors due to different observation times
◗ Error due to occult precipitation
◗ Errors due to low-intensity rains
◗ Any-other ?
Occult precipitation: Precipitation arriving at a location by processes that would

normally go unrecorded by a standard rain gauge, e.g. the condensation of mist
and fog on foliage.
18
Preparation of Data
◗ Before using rainfall data for any analysis, it is necessary to check
the record for
◗ Missing data and/or
◗ Consistency of data
◗ Inconsistency in rainfall data may arises from

◗ Change of gauge location
◗ Change of gauge type
◗ Change of gauge environment
◗ Change of gauge observer
◗ Change of gauge climate
19
Preparation of
Data
Missing data
 Sometimes, it may not be possible to measure the rainfall
at a particular measuring station due to absence of the
observer or instrument failure.
 So, to predict the missing data with the help of available

data of nearby measuring station, using following
methods;
20
Preparation of Data: Missing
Data Methods
◗ The following methods can be used to estimate

the missing precipitation data
Arithmetic mean method

◗ Station-average method
◗ Normal-ratio method
◗ Inverse-distance weighting
◗ Regression
21
Preparation of Data: Missing Data
Arithmetic mean method
 If rainfall data of station X is missing then to find

out the missing rainfall data Px;
PA + PB + PC + PD +
Px = n
PE
PA, PB, PC, PD, PE = Rainfall data available at nearby station in

cm
A, B, C, D, E, X = Rain gauge Station
n = Number of rain gauge st.
22 where data is available
 Rainfall data of at least three rain gauge is required.
 Px should be within 10% of the normal annual rainfall of

the index stations.
 Rain gauge stations should be evenly distributed around the

missing station & as close as possible.
23
Data Station Average Method
n
PX  1  i
P
n i1
PX is the missing precipitation value for station X
P1, P2, …, Pn are precipitation values at the
adjacent stations for the same period
n is the number of nearby stations
This method is used when 10% variation in annual precipitation

at station X lies within annual precipitation of
surrounding/adjacent stations.
24
Station Average Method
Example
25
Example
◗ Find out the missing storm precipitation data of station X given in
following table using station averaging method
Station 1 2 X 3 4
Storm Precipitation (inches) 3.8 3.25 ? 4.6 3.15

Annual Precipitation (inches) 39.50 43.1 36.8 49.5 46.20
1 1
PX 
P 3.8  3.25  4.6  3.15 
n i
4
i1
3.7in
What about 10% variation check from annual

precipitation ??
26
Normal Ratio Method
 This method is used, when the average annual rainfall at

any of the index stations are more than 10% of the
average annual rainfall of the station X.
Where , N1,N2,N3 ,….Nn = Avg. annual rainfall of index stations

Nx = Avg. annual rainfall of missing station
n = Number of index station
1 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑥
 P𝑥 = P +P 2 +P 3 +…….
𝑛 1 𝑁1 𝑁2 𝑁3 𝑁𝑛
Pn
27
Normal Ratio Method
n
PX 1  P1 Pnor P 1  Pi X
 
N2  .....  Nn   n
X N
NX n  N1 N
i1 i
P2 
◗ PX is the missing precipitation value for station X for a certain time period
◗ P1, P2, …, Pn are precipitation values at adjacent stations for the same
period
◗ N X is the long-term, annual average precipitation at station X
◗ N1, N2, …, Nn is the long-term precipitation for neighboring stations
◗ n is the number of adjacent stations
28
Data Example
following table
Station 1 2 X 3 4

Test the normal annual precipitation at station X

10% of 36.8  3.68in
 3.68  36.8  40.48in and 33.12in
Since annual precipitation of adjacent station does not lie with 10% so station
averaging method cannot be used and instead normal ratio method will be used
for better accuracy
29
Data Example
following table
Station 1 2 X 3 4

P1 3.8", P2  3.25", P3 4.6", P4  3.15"

N1  39.5", N 2  43.1", N 3  49.5", N 4  46.2"
Px  ?, N x  36.8"

P  1 P1 P
X
P
NX n  N1 2  ..... n  
Nn 
N2
PX 1  3.8 3.25 4.6 3.15 
     PX 
36.8 4  39.5 43.1 49.5 46.2 3.06"
30

Inverse-distance weighting
 The missing rainfall data of station X is then computed

from the Relation .
𝑛
𝑃𝑖
P𝑥 = 𝑊 𝑛
𝑖
𝑊𝑖
𝑖=1
𝑖=1
1 1
Where, Wi = =
𝐷𝑖2 𝑋𝑖2+𝑌𝑖2
31
Inverse Distance Weighing
1. di = (xi2 + yi2)0.5 • Distance from gage with missing data

to the neighboring gages
n
2. W   b • Weight of distances where b is
a proportionality factor (b = 1,
di 2)
1 n b
i1
3. P   di
X
Pi W
i 1
 PX is the missing precipitation value for station X for a certain
time period
 Pi are precipitation values at adjacent stations for the same period
 n is the number of neighboring stations
32
Data Regression
PX = bo + b1P1 + b2P2 + …. + bnPn
◗ PX is the missing precipitation value for station X for certain

time period
◗ P1, P2, …, Pn are precipitation values at the neighboring stations for
the same period
◗ b0, …, bn are coefficients calculated by least-squares methods
◗ n is the number of nearby gages
◗ This method is suitable when there is a large number of days

when observations are available for all gages
33
Preparation of Data: Consistency of
Data Double Mass Curve Technique
• Let’s take a group of 5 to 10 base stations in the neighbourhood of
the problem station X is selected
• Arrange the data of stn X rainfall and the average of the neighbouring
stations in reverse chronological order (from recent to old record)
•
Accumulate the precipitation of station X  Px  and the average
the group base stations  Pavg starting from the latest record.
values of 
•
Plot the  Px  against  Pavg  as shown on the next
• A decided break in the slope of the resulting plot is observed that
figure
indicates a change in precipitation regime of station X, i.e., inconsistency.
• Therefore, data at stn X should be corrected/adjusted as
Pcx=(Mc/Ma)*Px
Mc is slope of data before breakpoint
Ma is slope of line after breakpoint
Pcx is corrected precipitation at StationX
Px is original precipitation at StationX
34
Double Mass Curve Analysis
4.5
accumulated annual rainfall of X stn in
4
Ma
3.5
Break Point
a
3
Mc
2.5
c 
2
1.5
c Ma
a
10^3 cm
0.5 Mc
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Accumulated annual rainfall of neigbouring stns in 10^3 cm
Pcx – corrected precipitation at any time period t1 at stationX
Mc
Pcx  Px Px – Original recorded precp. at time period t1 at station X
Ma Mc – corrected slope of the double mass
35
curve
30
Ma – original slope of the mass curve after break
Preparation of Data: Consistency of Data
Double Mass Curve Technique
(i)Check whether the data of

station X is consistent
(ii)In which year change
indicated?
(iii)Compute the mean
annual rainfall for station X
at its present site for the
given 36 year period first
without adjustment and
secondly with the data
adjusted for the change in
regime.
(iv)Compute the adjusted
annual rainfall at station X
for the affected period.
36
37
38
39
 The rainfall recorded by a raingauge represents the
rainfall at that station.
 In many hydrological studies, the average depth of

rainfall over an area is required.
 For determination of average depth of rainfall, a

large num ber of raingauges are required
40
Spatial Averaging of Precipitation
◗ Average rainfall over an area: It is the amount of precipitation
which can be assumed as uniform over the given area.
◗ It is estimated by using several approaches given below;

◗ Arithmetic method
◗ Theissen polygon method
◗ Isohyetal method
◗ According to arithmetic method, arithmetic mean

precipitation over an area can be defined by
N
Pavg  
i1 Pi
N
◗ Where, Pavg is the average precipitation, N is the total number of stations and
Pi is the average annual precipitation for ith station.
41
Methods of Spatial Averaging Rainfall
Data
◗ Raingauges rainfall represent only point sampling of the
areal distribution of a storm
◗ The important rainfall for hydrological analysis is a rainfall

over an area, such as over the catchment
◗ To convert the point rainfall values at various stations in to

average value over a catchment, the following methods
are used:
◗ (i). arithmetic mean method
◗ (ii). the method of the Thiessen polygons
◗ (iii). the isohyetal method
42
Data Arithmetic Mean Method
• When the area is physically and climatically
homogenous and the required accuracy is small,
the average rainfall ( P ) for a basin can be
obtained as the arithmetic mean of the Pi values
recorded at various stations.
• Applicable rarely for practical purpose
P1 P2  .....  Pi 1 N
P  n
 .....P 
i
N  N i1 P
43
Methods of Spatial Averaging Rainfall Data
Arithmetic Mean Method
 If the rainfall is uniformly distributed, the

simplest method of estimating average rainfall is
to compute the arithmetic average of the recorded
rainfall values at various stations.
Pavg = P1 + P2 + P3 +……+Pn
n
P1,P2,P3,..Pn = Rainfall at various

stations n = number of
raingauge
44
Thiessen Polygon Method
 Arithmetic Avg. Method is most appropriate method

since rainfall varies in intensity and duration from place
to place.
 Hence rainfall recorded by each raingauge

station should be weighed according to the
area it is assumed to represent.
45
B
46
Step-1 Join the adjacent rain-gauge stations A,B,C & D by straight lines.
Step-2 Construct the perpendicular bisectors ofeach line
Step-3 A thiessen polygon network is thus constructed.
Step-4 Multiply the area of each polygon by the rainfall value of that
enclosed station.
Step-5 Find the total area of the basin/catchment.
Step-6 Compute the average rainfall fro m the equation.
47
• The method of Thiessen polygons consists of attributing to

each station an influence zone in which it is considered that
the rainfall is equivalent to that of the station.
• The influence zones are represented by convex polygons.
• These polygons are obtained using the mediators of the

segments which link each station to the closest
neighbouring stations
48
 Multiply the area of each thiessen polygon by the
raingauge value of the enclosed station.
 Formula for Average Rainfall;
Pavg = P1A1 + P2A2 + P3A3 +……

+PnAn
A1+A2+A3+…+An
P1,P2,P3,…Pn = Rainfall at various stations

A1,A2,A3...An = Area of enclosed station
49
50
P7
P6
A7
A6
P2
A2
A1
A8 A5
P1
P8 P5
A3 A4
P3
P4
51
Data Thiessen Polygon Method
P1A1  P2 A2  .....  Pm Am
P 
A 1  A2  .....  Am 
Generally for M station
PA i i M
Ai
P  i 1
Atotal  
i Pi A
1
Ai
The ratio is called the weightage factor of station i
52
A
Q. Estimate the mean areal rainfall for the area shown in Fig. 3.1, using the
Thiessen polygon method.
58
Ai
Ai  P
Pi i
A
A
M
Ai
59
Mean precipitation = 
i 1
Pi
=121.8
A 4
Isohyetal Method
 Isohyet are the contour of equal rainfall depth.
 It is used when the rainfall is not uniform and ground

surface having change in topography.
 An isohyet is a line, on a rainfall map of the basin,

joining places of equal rainfall.
60
61
𝑃1 + 𝑃2 𝑃2 + 𝑃3 𝑃3 + 𝑃4 𝑃𝑛 − 1 + 𝑃𝑛
+ 𝐴2 +A3 +……. An−1
2 2 2 2
P𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 𝐴1
A1+A2+A3+……………An-1
𝑛
𝑃1 + 𝑃2
𝐴×
P𝑎𝑣𝑔 =
2
𝑖= 1
𝑛
𝐴
𝑖=1
Where,
P1,P2,P3,…Pn = the value of isohyets
A1,A2,A3...An -1 = Inter Isohyets
Area
62
63
Isohyetal Method
• An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall
magnitude.
10.0
8
D
6 C A5
12
9.2
12
A4
7.0 A3
4 B
7.2
A
A2 E 10.0
9.1
4.0
F A1
8
59
6
4
Isohyetal Method
• P1, P2, P3, …. , Pn – the values of the isohytes
• A1, A2, A3, …., A4 – are the inter isohytes area respectively
• Atotal – the total catchment area
• P - the mean precipitation over the catchment
 P1   P2   Pn Pn 
A1   2  ... n  1 
 P22   P23  1  2 
P A A
Atotal
The isohyet method is superior to the other two methods

NOTE
especially when the stations are large in number.
65
Isohyetal Method
66
 A hyetograph is bar graph.
 It represent a plot of the
intensity of rainfall against
the time interval.
 It can be prepared either from

the mass curve of rainfall, or
directly from the data
obtained from raingauges.
65
P  P Pi1 Ai A
Ai P
i avg itotal
avg
2 A
Atotal
68
Isohyetal Method
◗ Other mapping programs such as SURFER or
GIS program ARCVIEW can be used to map
rainfall at the different measurement locations.
70
Presentation of Rainfall Data
 There are three methods of presentation of rainfall data

which have been found to be useful in interpretation and
analysis of hydrological studies are given as follows;
1. Hyetograph method
2. Mass curve of rainfall method
3. Point rainfall method
64
 It is very easy to represent the
characteristics of a storm and it
is useful in the development of
design storms to predict
extreme floods.
 The area under a hyetograph

represents the total rainfall
received in that period.
66
 The mass curve of rainfall is a
plot of the cumulative depth of
rainfall against time, plotted in
chronological order.
 The steepness of the curve

indicates the intensity of rainfall.
 The horizontal line of the curve

indicates that there is no rainfall
during that period.
67
 Mass curve is directly plotted in
float type and weighing bucket
type raingauge.
 From the mass curve, the total

depth of rainfall and intensity of
rainfall at any instant of time can
be found.
68
 It is also known as station rainfall.
 The rainfall data o f a particular station is

known as point rainfall.
 This rainfall data can be presented as daily, weekly,

monthly, seasonal or annual values for various
periods.
 It is graphically presented as plots o f

magnitude vs chronological time in the form of bar
diagram.
69
Intensity – Duration – Frequency (IDF) Relationship
Hyetograph
- is a plot of the precipitation against time
Hyetograph of a
storm
Total depth = 10.6 cm
0.
5 Duration = 48 hr
0.
In t en sit y,
4
cm /h r
0.
3
0.
2
0–8 8– 16 – 24 24 – 32 32 – 40 40 –
0. 16 48
1 Time, hours
76 0
Mass Curve of Rainfall

- is a plot of the accumulated precipitation against time
Mass curve of rainfall
accumulated precipitation, mm
60
50
40
30 1st storm,
16 mm
20 2nd
storm,
34 mm
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time, hour
77
Intensity – Duration – Frequency (IDF)
Relationship
◗ Example: The mass curve of rainfall in a storm of total duration 270
minutes is given below. Draw the hyetograph of the storm at 30
minute time step.
Time since start (min) 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270
Cumulative Rainfall (mm) 0 6 18 21 36 43 49 52 53 54
Incremental depth in
interval of 30 min 6 12 3 15 7 6 3 1 1
(mm)
Rainfall intensity (mm/hr) 12 24 6
H yetograp 30 14 12 6 2 2
35 h
Rainfall intensity (mm/hr)
30
25
20
15
10
0
30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240
72 270Time (min)
Relationship
◗ Return Period (T) - The average length of time in years for an event
(e.g. flood or rainfall) of given magnitude to be equalled or exceeded.
◗ For example, if the rainfall with a 50 year return period at a given
location is 200mm, this is just another way of saying that a rainfall
200mm, or greater, should occur at that location on the average only
once every 50 years.
◗ Probability of Occurrence (p) (of an event of specified magnitude) -

The probability that an event of the specified magnitude will be equalled
or exceeded during a one year period.
◗ Basic Relationships
T=1/P or P=1/T
79
Relationship
◗ Probability analysis may be made either by empirical or by
analytical methods.
◗ A simple empirical technique is to arrange the given annual extreme series
in descending order of magnitude and to assign an order number, m.Thus
for the first entry m=1 and for the second entry m=2 and so on, till the
last event for which m=N=number of years of record.The probablity, P, of
an event equalled to or exceeded is given by the Weibul formula.
M
P N1
1 N1
T 
P m
Above equation is empirical and there are several other

empirical equations available to calculate P.
80
Relationship
◗ The record of annual rainfall at station A covering a period of 22 years
is given below.
◗ (a). Estimate the annual rainfall with return periods of 10 years and 23
years (b).What would be the probability of an annual rainfall of magnitude
equal to or exceeding 100cm.
Annual Rainfall Annual Rainfall
Year (cm) Year (cm)
1960 130 1971 90
1961 84 1972 102
1962 76 1973 108
1963 89 1974 60
1964 112 1975 75
1965 96 1976 120
1966 80 1977 160
1967 125 1978 85
1968 143 1979 106
1969 89 1980 83
81
1970 78 1981 95
Retur
(a).
Annual Probability n
m Rainfall (cm) P=m/(N+1 Period Annual rainfall for 10
) T years return period.
(years) By interpolation,
1 160 0.043 23.00 P=137.5cm Annual rainfall
2 140 0.087 11.50 for 23 years return period.
3 130 0.130 7.67 P=160cm
4 125 0.174 5.75 Annual rainfall for 50
5 120 0.217 4.60 years return period.
6 112 0.261 3.83 By extrapolation, P= ??cm
7 108 0.304 3.29
8 106 0.348 2.88
9 102 0.391 2.56
10 96 0.435 2.30 (b). Return period of P=100cm
11 95 0.478 2.09 is 2.4 (by interpolation between
12 90 0.522 1.92 102 and 96)
13 89 0.565 1.77
14 89 0.609 1.64
15 85 0.652 1.53
16 84 0.696 1.44
17 83 0.739 1.35
18 80 0.783 1.28
19 78 0.826 1.21
20 76 0.870 1.15
21 75 0.913 1.10
22(=N) 60 0.957 1.05
IDF Curve
◗ In many design problems related to watershed such as runoff

disposal, erosion control, highway construction, culvert design, it
is necessary to know the rainfall intensities of different durations
and different return periods.
◗ The curve that shows the inter-dependency between i (cm/hr),
D (hour) and T (year) is called IDF curve.
◗ The relation can be expressed in general form as:
kT x i – Intensity (cm/hr)
i  D – Duration (hours)
D  a n
K, x, a, n – are constant for a given
catchment
83
Typical IDF
Curve
1
T = 25 years
4
T = 50 years
1 T = 100
2
years
In tesity ,
1
cm /h r
0 k = 6.93
8 x=
0.189
6 a = 0.5
4 n=
0 1 3 4 5 6 0.878
2
2 Duration,
0 hr
84
Thank you
◗ Questions….

Precipitation and Its Estimation Lecture 5

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Precipitation and Its Estimation Lecture 5

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Precipitation and its

Rainfall being the predominant form of precipitation causing

◗ The rainfall is classified into

◗ Agriculture – what to plant in certain areas, where and when to plant,

◗ Horticulture/viticulture - how and when to irrigate

◗ Engineers - to design structures for runoff control i.e. storm-water

◗ Scientists - hydrological modelling of catchments

◗ Instruments for measuring precipitation include rain gauges and

◗ Rain gauges are classified into

◗ Often have a funnel opening into

◗ Weather Station - Records rainfall, but also evaporation, air

◗ Radar - Ground-based radar equipment can be used to

◗ Since the catching area of the raingauge is very small as compared

◗ There are several factors to be considered to restrict the number

◗ In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical zones

◗ 10 % of the raingauges should be self recording to know the intensity of

Rainguage with wind

Occult precipitation: Precipitation arriving at a location by processes that would

◗ Inconsistency in rainfall data may arises from

 So, to predict the missing data with the help of available

◗ The following methods can be used to estimate

Arithmetic mean method

 If rainfall data of station X is missing then to find

PA, PB, PC, PD, PE = Rainfall data available at nearby station in

 Px should be within 10% of the normal annual rainfall of

 Rain gauge stations should be evenly distributed around the

This method is used when 10% variation in annual precipitation

Storm Precipitation (inches) 3.8 3.25 ? 4.6 3.15

What about 10% variation check from annual

 This method is used, when the average annual rainfall at

Where , N1,N2,N3 ,….Nn = Avg. annual rainfall of index stations

Storm Precipitation (inches) 3.8 3.25 ? 4.6 3.15

Test the normal annual precipitation at station X

Storm Precipitation (inches) 3.8 3.25 ? 4.6 3.15

P1 3.8", P2  3.25", P3 4.6", P4  3.15"

 The missing rainfall data of station X is then computed

1. di = (xi2 + yi2)0.5 • Distance from gage with missing data

PX = bo + b1P1 + b2P2 + …. + bnPn

◗ PX is the missing precipitation value for station X for certain

◗ This method is suitable when there is a large number of days

(i)Check whether the data of

 In many hydrological studies, the average depth of

 For determination of average depth of rainfall, a

◗ It is estimated by using several approaches given below;

◗ According to arithmetic method, arithmetic mean

◗ The important rainfall for hydrological analysis is a rainfall

◗ To convert the point rainfall values at various stations in to

 If the rainfall is uniformly distributed, the

P1,P2,P3,..Pn = Rainfall at various

 Arithmetic Avg. Method is most appropriate method

 Hence rainfall recorded by each raingauge

Step-2 Construct the perpendicular bisectors ofeach line

Step-3 A thiessen polygon network is thus constructed.

Step-5 Find the total area of the basin/catchment.

Step-6 Compute the average rainfall fro m the equation.

• The method of Thiessen polygons consists of attributing to

• The influence zones are represented by convex polygons.

• These polygons are obtained using the mediators of the

 Formula for Average Rainfall;

Pavg = P1A1 + P2A2 + P3A3 +……

P1,P2,P3,…Pn = Rainfall at various stations

 Isohyet are the contour of equal rainfall depth.

 It is used when the rainfall is not uniform and ground

 An isohyet is a line, on a rainfall map of the basin,