CEE 4420 Engineering

Hydrology
(Prepared by Abebe Gebregiorgis)
Introduction to
Precipitation
2.1 Introduction
All forms of water that reach the earth from
the atmosphere is called Precipitation.
The usual forms are rainfall, snowfall, frost,
hail, dew. Of all these, the first two contribute
significant amounts of water.
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.
Introduction.
In nature water is present in three
aggregation states:
solid: snow and ice;
liquid: pure water and solutions;
gaseous: vapors under different grades of
pressure and saturation

The water exists in the atmosphere in these
three aggregation states.
Introduction.
Types of precipitation
Rain, snow, hail, drizzle, glaze, sleet

Rain:
Is precipitation in the form of water drops of size
larger than 0.5 mm to 6mm
The rainfall is classified in to
Light rain if intensity is trace to 2.5 mm/h
Moderate if intensity is 2.5 mm/hr to 7.5 mm/hr
Heavy rain above 7.5 mm/hr
Introduction.
Snow:
Snow is formed from ice crystal masses, which
usually combine to form flakes
Hail (violent thunderstorm)
precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps
usually consisting of concentric layers of clear
ice and compact snow.
Hail varies from 0.5 to 5 cm in diameter and can
be damaging crops and small buildings.
2.2 Temporal and Spatial Variation of Rainfall
Rainfall varies greatly both in time
and space
With respect to time temporal variation
With space Spatial variation

The temporal variation may be defined as
hourly, daily, monthly, seasonal variations
and annual variation (long-term variation of
precipitation)

Temporal Variation of rainfall at a particular site
Total Rainfall amount = 6.17 cm
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Time, min
R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

I
n
t
e
n
s
i
t
y
,

c
m
/
h
r
Long term Precipitation variation at Arba Minch
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Years
A
n
n
u
a
l

r
a
i
n
f
a
l
l
,

m
m
Annual Precipitation
average precipitation
2.3. Measurement of Rainfall
Rainfall and other forms of precipitation are
measured in terms of depth, the values being
expressed in millimeters.
One millimeter of precipitation represents the
quantity of water needed to cover the land with a
1mm layer of water, taking into account that
nothing is lost through drainage, evaporation or
absorption.
Instrument used to collect and measure the
precipitation is called raingauge.


Rainfall measurement
Precipitation gauge
1 - pole
2 - collector
3 - support- galvanized
metal sheet
4 funnel
5 - steel ring
1. Non recording gauge
2. Recording gauge / graphic raingauge
The instrument records the graphical
variation of the fallen precipitation, the total
fallen quantity in a certain time interval and
the intensity of the rainfall (mm/hour).
It allows continuous measurement of the
rainfall.
The graphic rain gauge
1-receiver
2-floater
3-siphon
4-recording needle
5-drum with diagram
6-clock mechanism
3. Tele-rain gauge with tilting baskets
The tele-rain gauge is used to transmit
measurements of precipitation through
electric or radio signals.
The sensor device consists of a system with
two tilting baskets, which fill alternatively with
water from the collecting funnel, establishing
the electric contact.
The number of tilting is proportional to the
quantity of precipitation hp
Tele-rain gauge

The tele-rain-gauge

1 - collecting funnel
2 - tilting baskets
3 - electric signal
4 - evacuation
4. Radar measurement of rainfall
The meteorological radar is the powerful instrument
for measuring the area extent, location and
movement of rainstorm.
The amount of rainfall overlarge area can be
determined through the radar with a good degree of
accuracy
The radar emits a regular succession of pulse of
electromagnetic radiation in a narrow beam so that
when the raindrops intercept a radar beam, its
intensity can easily be known.
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 gauge:
Like economic considerations to a large extent
Topographic & accessibility to some extent.
Raingauge Network..
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
recommendation:
In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical
zones
Ideal 1 station for 600 900 km
2

Acceptable 1 station for 900 3000 km
2

In mountainous regions of temperate , Mediterranean and
tropical zones
Ideal 1 station for 100 250 km
2

Acceptable 1 station for 250 1000 km
2

In arid and polar zone
1 station for 1500 10,000 km
2

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



2.4 Preparation of Data
Before using rainfall data, it is necessary to check
the data for continuing and consistency
Missing data
Record errors

Given annual precipitation values P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, P
m
at
neighboring M stations of station X 1, 2, 3 & m respectively
The normal annual precipitation given by N
1
, N
2
, N
3
,, N
m
,
N
i
(including station X)
To find the missing precipitation, P
x
, of station X


Estimation of Missing Data
(

+ + + =
m
m x
x
N
P
N
P
N
P
M
N
P ...
2
2
1
1
Let a group of 5 to 10 base stations in the neighbourhood of
the problem station X is selected
Arrange the data of X stn rainfall and the average of the
neighbouring stations in reverse chronological order (from
recent to old record)
Accumulate the precipitation of station X and the
average values of the group base stations starting
from the latest record.
Plot the against as shown on the next figure
A decided break in the slope of the resulting plot is observed
that indicates a change in precipitation regime of station X, i.e
inconsistency.
Therefore, is should be corrected by the factor shon on the
next slide


Test for consistency record
(Double mass curve techniques)
( )
x
P
( )
avg
P ( )
x
P
( )
avg
P
Test for consistency record.
a
c
x cx
M
M
P P =
P
cx
corrected precipitation at any time period t
1
at stationX
P
x
Original recorded precp. at time period t
1
at station X
M
c
corrected slope of the double mass curve
M
a
original slope of the mass curve
Double Mass Curve Analysis
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Accumulated annual rainfall of neigbouring stns in 10^3 cm
a
c
c
u
m
u
l
a
t
e
d

a
n
n
u
a
l

r
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

o
f

X

s
t
n

i
n

1
0
^
3

c
m
c
a
a
c
M
M
a
c
=
2.5 Mean Precipitation over an area
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 to in to average value over a catchment,
the following methods are used:
arithmetic mean
the method of the Thiessen polygons
the isohyets method
When the area is physically and climatically
homogenous and the required accuracy is small,
the average rainfall ( ) for a basin can be
obtained as the arithmetic mean of the h
i
values
recorded at various stations.
Applicable rarely for practical purpose



Arithmetic Mean Method

=
=
+ + + +
=
N
i
i
n i
P
N N
P P P P
P
1
2 1
1 ..... .....
P
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


Method of Thiessen polygons
Thiessen polygons .
Thiessen polygons .
A
1

A
2

A
3

A
4

A
5

A
6

A
7

A
8

P
1

P
2

P
3

P
4

P
5

P
6

P
7

P
8

( )
m
m m
A A A
A P A P A P
P
+ + +
+ + +
=
.....
.....
2 1
2 2 1 1

=
=
= =
M
i
i
i
total
i
M
i
i
A
A
P
A
A P
P
1
1
Thiessen polygons .
Generally for M station
The ratio is called the weightage factor of station i
A
A
i
An isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall
magnitude.


Isohyetal Method
F
B
E
A
C
D
12
9.2
4.0
7.0
7.2
9.1
10.0
10.0
12
8
8
6
6
4
4
a
1
a
1

a
2

a
3

a
4

a
5

P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, . , P
n
the values of the isohytes
a
1
, a
2
, a
3
, ., a
4
are the inter isohytes area respectively
A the total catchment area
- the mean precipitation over the catchment



Isohyetal Method
P
A
P P
a
P P
a
P P
a
P
n n
n
|
.
|

\
|
+
+ +
|
.
|

\
|
+
+
|
.
|

\
|
+
=

2
...
2 2
1
1
3 2
2
2 1
1
The isohyet method is superior to the other two methods
especially when the stations are large in number.
NOTE
2.6 Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) Relationship
Mass Curve of Rainfall
Mass curve of rainfall
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time, hour
a
c
c
u
m
u
l
a
t
e
d

p
r
e
c
i
p
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
,

m
m
1
st
storm,
16 mm
2
nd
storm,
16 mm
IDF . Hyetograph
- is a plot of the accumulated precipitation against time, plotted in
chronological order
Hyetograph of a storm
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0 8 8 16 16 24 24 32 32 40 40 48
Time, hours
I
n
t
e
n
s
i
t
y
,

c
m
/
h
r
Total depth = 10.6 cm
Duration = 46 hr
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:
IDF .
( )
n
x
a D
T k
i
+
=
i Intensity (cm/hr)
D Duration (hours)
K, x, a, n are constant for a given
catchment
IDF .
Typical IDF Curve
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Duration, hr
I
n
t
e
s
i
t
y
,

c
m
/
h
r
T = 25 years
T = 50 years
T = 100 years
k = 6.93
x = 0.189
a = 0.5
n = 0.878