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Meteorology of Precipitation
Cooling
Air Containing water vapor must be cooled to
dew point. A parcel of air can get cooled by
Radiation to cooler surroundings
Mixing with a cooler body of air
Can produce
Conduction to a cool surface like snow or cool only fog or
ocean water drizzle
Condensation
• Air containing water vapor with no impurities (such as dust or ions)
cooled to high degrees of super-saturation without the
formation of droplets.
Droplet Growth
Cold fronts usually move faster than warm fronts, so the evolution of
an extra tropical cyclone typically follows a sequence as
Weather map showing a typical extra-tropical cyclonic storm over North America
Contd…(Adiabatic Cooling by Vertical Uplift due to Convergence)
Non-frontal Convergence
• Non-frontal convergence is associated with
The quasi-permanent intertropical convergence zone
(ITCZ)
Temporary storms that form seasonally over the tropical
zones.
Thunderstorm is associated as a
vertical column made up of three
parts:
• an inflow region near the ground
where warm, moist air is drawn into
the cell
• an uplift region in the middle where
moisture condenses as air rises,
producing precipitation
• an outflow region in the upper
atmosphere where outflow of cooler
drier air occurs.
Rain Shadow
Downward air movement on the lee
side causes adiabatic warming
Warming – dissipates the clouds
– Turns off the precipitation
process
PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT
MEASUREMENT OF POINT PRECIPITATION
precipitation.
• Weighing-recording gages:
• Non-Recording Gauges
• Recording Gauges
Float-type Gauge
Standard Rain Gauge
Contd…(Measurement of Rainfall)
Weighing type Rain Gauge
Tipping Bucket Rain gauge
Factors affecting Measurement Accuracy of
Conventional Gages:
• Size of orifice
• Orientation of orifice
• Orifice height
• Wind shielding
• Distance to obstruction
• Splashing
• Evaporation and Wetting losses
• Instrument errors
• Observer errors
• Errors due to differences in observation time
• Errors due to occult precipitation
• Errors due to low-intensity precipitation
contd…
• Size of orifice
Orifice diameter should not be less than 30mm.
Above this diameter, the size of the opening has little effect on
gage catch of rain. However, small diameter gages are not
suitable for snow measurement.
This type of small diameter gages should be calibrated
volumetrically or gravimetrically, since even small variations in
manufacture may affect the true size of the opening of a small
diameter gage and hence the catch.
Water adhering to the walls of the gage (wetting loss) is high in
plastic gages.
Also, evaporation has a greater relative effect on catch and so
such gages should be read and emptied often
contd…
• Orientation of orifice
hydrological input.
Exception
ground surface.
• Height of orifice
P i i i h j b d f i d
contd…
• Wind shielding: For unshielded gages, the catch deficiencies are about 10% for
rain and over 50% for snowflakes. Some corrections are applied to take care of
this. If shielding is provided approximately, then, the above effect is reduced.
It is expensive to install ground-level gages or to convert the
existing gages projecting above ground to ground level-gages.
Also, ground-level gages are useless when a snowpack accumulates.
Conversion will also complicate the analysis of historical rainfall data.
Distance to obstructions
• However, more of the surrounding objects should intrude into the conical
space defined by a 45o semi-vertical angle.
• Individual, isolated objects can produce wind eddies that can reduce the
gage catch, especially if they are taller than the gage.
Example:
Rainfall of different stations of following Fig. is given in following Table
with missing record at station A. Estimate the rainfall at A from the record of
surrounding stations.
The procedure for estimating the missing rainfall record at station A is given in Table.
P
PW 316.37
3.78cm
W 83.63
A
Example: Areal Precipitation
The figure below shows rain stations and their annual rainfall in
centimeters for a region. Find the average depth of precipitation using: (a) the
arithmetic mean method, (b) the thiessen polygon method, and (c) the isohyetal
method
Fig:
Watershed Plan
With location of
rain gauge
Stations and
their observed
rainfalls
Solution:
21 46.7 708 33
23 53.6 560 30
25 49 500 24.5
P=737900/14783=50 cm
c) Isohyetal Method
Arithmetic
Average Precipitation = 1550mm
precipitation data
2000
y = -0.0002x 2 + 1.1175x + 842.76
1500
Avg. Ann. ppt
1000
500
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
elevation
Double – Mass Analysis
Example
The following table gives the annual rainfall at station
A and the average, annual rainfall of 10 stations in the
vicinity for a period of 30 years. It is suspected that there has
been a change in the location of the rain gauge at A during
the period of this record. Determine the year when the
change has occurred and the corrected rain gauge readings
prior to this year.
Solution:
The cumulative totals of station A and the average of 10
stations are plotted in following figure. The change is found
in 1931 when the slope of 1.19 changes to 0.81.
Fig:
Watershed Plan
With location of
rain gauge
Stations and
their observed
rainfalls
Solution:
P=737900/14783=50 cm
c) Isohyetal Method
vessels are used. The volume collected over time is divided by the area
Weighing-recording gages:
Orientation of orifice
Exception
o In cases where very strong upslope winds are accompanying the rain, it
Height of orifice
o Precipitation gages that project above ground surface cause wind eddies
that tend to reduce the catch of the smaller raindrops and snowflakes.
contd…
Wind shielding: For unshielded gages, the catch deficiencies are about 10% for
rain and over 50% for snowflakes. Some corrections are applied to take care of
this. If shielding is provided approximately, then, the above effect is reduced.
o It is expensive to install ground-level gages or to convert the
existing gages projecting above ground to ground level-gages.
o Also, ground-level gages are useless when a snowpack accumulates.
o Conversion will also complicate the analysis of historical rainfall data.
Orientation of Orifice:
o The gage orifice should be level, because the depth of precipitation
falling on a horizontal surface represents the hydrological input.
o Exception
• In cases where very strong upslope winds are accompanying the
rain, it may be appropriate to orient the orifice parallel to the
ground surface.
Height of Surface:
o Precipitation gages that project above ground surface cause wind eddies
that tend to reduce the catch of the smaller rain drops and snow flakes.
These eddies prevent the entry of the small rain drops and snow flakes
contd…
Wind Shielding
For unshielded gages, the catch deficiencies are about 10% for rain
and over 50% for snow flakes. Some corrections are applied to take
effect is reduced.
Distance to obstructions
However, more of the surrounding objects should intrude into the conical
space defined by a 45o semi-vertical angle.
Individual, isolated objects can produce wind eddies that can reduce the
gage catch, especially if they are taller than the gage.
Arithmetic
Average Precipitation = 1550mm
precipitation data
2000
y = -0.0002x 2 + 1.1175x + 842.76
1500
Avg. Ann. ppt
1000
500
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
elevation
Annual Precipitation (mm) at Station
Year A B C D E
1970 1010 1161 780 949 1135
Problem 2. The table gives annual
1971 1005 978 1041 784 970
precipitation measured over a 17yr
1972 1067 1226 1027 1067 1158
period at five gages in a region.
1973 1051 880 825 1014 1022
Gage C was moved at the end of
1974 801 1146 933 923 821
1974. Carry out a double-mass-
1975 1411 1353 1584 930 1483
curve analysis to check for
1976 1222 1018 1215 981 1174
consistency in that gage’s record,
1977 1012 751 832 683 771
and make proper adjustments to
1978 1153 1059 918 824 1188
correct for any inconsistencies
1979 1140 1223 781 1056 967
discovered.
1980 829 1003 782 796 1088
1981 1165 1120 865 1121 963
1982 1170 989 956 1286 1287
1983 1264 1056 1102 1044 1190
1984 1200 1261 1058 991 1283
1985 942 811 710 875 873
1986 1166 969 1158 1202 1209
Annual Precipitation (mm)
ABDE avg ABDE Cum C Cum
Year A B C D E 0 0
1970 1010 1161 780 949 1135 1063.75 1063.75 780.00
1971 1005 978 1041 784 970 934.25 1998.00 1821.00
1972 1067 1226 1027 1067 1158 1129.50 3127.50 2848.00
1973 1051 880 825 1014 1022 991.75 4119.25 3673.00
1974 801 1146 933 923 821 922.75 5042.00 4606.00
1975 1411 1353 1584 930 1483 1294.25 6336.25 6190.00
1976 1222 1018 1215 981 1174 1098.75 7435.00 7405.00
1977 1012 751 832 683 771 804.25 8239.25 8237.00
1978 1153 1059 918 824 1188 1056.00 9295.25 9155.00
1979 1140 1223 781 1056 967 1096.50 10391.75 9936.00
1980 829 1003 782 796 1088 929.00 11320.75 10718.00
1981 1165 1120 865 1121 963 1092.25 12413.00 11583.00
1982 1170 989 956 1286 1287 1183.00 13596.00 12539.00
1983 1264 1056 1102 1044 1190 1138.50 14734.50 13641.00
1984 1200 1261 1058 991 1283 1183.75 15918.25 14699.00
1985 942 811 710 875 873 875.25 16793.50 15409.00
1986 1166 969 1158 1202 1209 1136.50 17930.00 16567.00
C Corrected
2mass curve
780.00
18000.00 1041.00
16000.00 1027.00
14000.00
825.00
12000.00
10000.00 933.00
2mass curve
8000.00 1584.00
6000.00 1215.00
4000.00 1007.28
2000.00
1111.40
0.00
0.00 5000.00 10000.00 15000.00 20000.00 945.53
946.75
1047.23
1157.40
Actual Slope 1.039231 1334.16
Old Slope 0.858392 1280.89
859.58
1401.96
Correction factor 1.210672
Problem 3. Compute and compare the seasonality index and
average time of occurrence of monthly precipitation at the
following stations.
Monthly Precipitation (mm)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
New
Orleans 97 102 135 117 112 112 170 135 127 71 84 104
Sine 0.272 0.706 0.961 0.970 0.718 0.272 -0.247 -0.706 -0.966 -0.966 -0.706 -0.255
Cosine 0.962 0.709 0.276 -0.243 -0.696 -0.962 -0.969 -0.709 -0.260 0.260 0.709 0.967