Precipitation

P: water (solid, liquid) falling from atmosphere to

ground
P includes Rain, Drizzle, Snow, Hail, Sleet, Ice crystals

Measurement:
Container to collect P in a storm event
Radar, digital recorders
Accuracy depends on physical setting, disturbancesetc
Weather data available from government agencies:
PME (MEPA), MWE (MAW),
Formation Of Precipitation
Conditions:
1. Humid air cooled to dew-point T
2. Nuclei
3. Droplets to raindrops
4. Size of raindrops

Adiabatic expansion
due to pressure change
 8 in (20.32 cm)

Standard Rain
Gages (SRG)

Standard Rain Gages (SRG)

30 in (76.2 cm)
Accuracy?
 ESTIMATION OF PRECIPITATION
OVER AN AREA
Effective Depth of Drecipitation (EUD)
1. Arithmetic average:
for evenly distribute stations (uniform density)

3. Thiessen method
area-weighted averaging
2. Isohyetal lines
contouring
Areal Estimation of P from a network of
gages
13.97 mm

22.1 mm

137.2 mm
59.2 mm

48 mm
(1) Arithmetic average

Pa = 1/N Pi

(13.97 + 22.1 + 59.2 + 48.0+ 137.2)/5

= 56.1
(2) Thiessen Polygon Method
Area-weighted average
(every gage represents best the area
immediately around the gage)
Constructing Thiessen Network:
1. Plot stations on a map
2. Connect adjacent stations by
straight lines
3. Bisect each connecting line
perpendicularly
4. Perpendicular lines define a
polygon around each station
5. P at a station is applied to the
polygon closest to it
St.No P Polygon Weighte Weigh
area d area t-ed P
1 13.97 15 0.128 1.788

2 22.1 33 0.281 9.273

3 59.2 28.8 0.245 14.5

4 48 16.4 0.139 6.672

5 137.2 24.3 0.207 28.4

Totals 280.4 117.5 1.00 60.633

7
(3) isohyetal method
Based on areas calculated from contoured P map
(check first for effect of elevation by plotting P vs
elevation)
STEPS:
1. Plot a contour map of P based on gage
readings at station
2. Compute area between each successive
contour lines
Pa = PaiAi/ Ai
Isohyetal method
Isohyetal method procedure
30
Determine contours of
25
equal P:
28 20
(Isohyetal lines) 26
15
(4)
Estimate representative P 22
(3)
for each region 17
Calculate Pav (2)
(1)
P = Pi*Ai/AT 11

= P(1)*A(1)/AT + P(2)*A(2)/AT
+ P(3)*A(3)/AT +P(4)*A(4)/AT
Example
P was measured at several
stations.
Characterize the precipitation
over the area as the arithmetic
average, Thiessen-weighted
average, and isohyetal
average.
Example, solution
1. Arithmetic average:

Pa =
(4.5+4.4+4.4+4.1+4.0+3.7+3.
5+2.5+2.7)/9 = 3.76 in
Example, solution
2. Thiessen-Weighted average:
Example, solution
3. Isohyetal Method:
Events During Precipitation

Interception (8- 35% for densely vegetated)

Stem flow
Infiltration
infiltration capacity
how fast water is absorbed into soil.
effected greatly by soil type.
Water infiltrates faster into sand than it does
clay.
Low infiltration capacity causes more runoff and
more erosion.
 Depression storage

Overland flow (P rate > If rate)

Interflow (horizontal flow in unsaturated zone)

Baseflow
Evaporation
Evaporation
Its the physical process by which liquid is transformed to gas
(vapor) due to the release of the bonds holding the molecules
together
In Hydrology: its the amount of water lost from soils and open
water bodies to the atmosphere
Evaporation stops when air is saturated with moisture
Absolute humidity:
Grams of water/cubic meter of air
Saturation humidity
max amount of moisture air can hold at any T

Relative humidity:
Absolute humidity/saturation humidity
HA
HR = X100%
HS
Evaporation contd.
Dew point:
T at which condensation will begin
Rate of E depends on: T (air), T(water),
absolute humidity, wind.
Estimation and Measurement:
No direct measurement
Water budget method
E = I - O (+/-) S
Evaporation pan
Standard: US weather service class A Pan
Evaporation estimation

4 ft (1.22 m)
10 (25.4 cm)
 Evaporation Pan operation:
Pans placed on supports to allow air circulation
A water depth of 7-8 in (18 - 20 cm) is maintained.
Water depth in pan is measured with time
Max, min, T recorded
Water is added or removed from pan to adjust for
rain and E, its volume recorded
E from a pan is higher than actual E from a lake
Pan coefficient:
Empirical correction factor 0.58 0.78 (depending
on month)
Transpiration
Mass transfer of water from ground to the air through
plants
Transpiration can exceed evaporation in heavily wooded
areas
Transpiration is only important during growing season (in
cultivated areas)
wilting point: soil moisture is low causing surface tension
of soil-water interface to exceed osmotic pressure
water will not enter roots
Transpiration is measured in carefully controlled lab
conditions
Phytometer: is a sealed container partially filled w/ soil.
Transpiration is measured as the increase in humidity in
the air space around the plant
Evapotranspiration (ET)
any transfer of moisture to the air
90% of P in arid regions!
In field conditions, not possible to separate
evaporation from transpiration
Potential ET: maximum evapotranspiration if
there is infinite supply of water available in the
soil for the vegetation.
Actual ET: amount of ET under field conditions
Potential ET
 Theoretical estimation (empirical formulas)

Thornthwaite's method

a 1.5
10Tai
12
T
ET 1.62 I ai
i 1 5
I
a =0.492+0.0179I 0.0000771I2 + 0.000000675I3
ET is potential evapotranspiration in cm/month
Tai is mean monthly air temperature in C for month I
I is annual heat index
a is s constant
ET measurement
field measurement
Large watertight caisson buried in ground, filled w/ soil
and planted with vegetation.

Example 2.2
 Infiltration
Overland Flow
Interflow
2.3 Infiltration, Overland Flow, and
Interflow
2.5 Runoff Estimation- Rational Method

Q=CiA

Q: Peak discharge ft3/s

C: runoff coefficient
i: average intensity of rainfall (in/hr) for a selected
frequency of occurrence or return period for the
time of concentration (Tc) (min)
Tc: estimated time required for runoff to flow from
most remote part of the area under consideration to
the point under consideration
A: drainage area (acres)
Example 2.3
For a drainage area of 80 acres
30% rooftops
10% streets and driveways
20% lawn on sandy soil
40% woodlands
Height of most remote point is 100 ft
Maximum travel length of 3000 ft
Calculate peak runoff from a 10-year frequency
storm.
Example 2.3 solution
We need C, Tc, I

C = 0.43
Tc from figure 2.8 = 14 min
i from fig. 2.9 (for 10 year return period, 14 min duration) =
4.9 in/hr
Q = C i A = 0.43 x 4.9 x 80 = 169 cfs
Figure 2.8
Nomograph for estimating Tc for a small basin
 Chapter Highlights
1. Precipitation can occur in different forms-rain, drizzle, snow,
and sleet.
2. The standard U.S. precipitation gage and various types of
recording gages (for example, tipping bucket) form the basis
for regional, station-based measurements.
3. New NEXRAD radars provide a capability of continuous
precipitation measurements over thousands of square miles.
4. Various statistical techniques are available to estimate
average precipitation from several stations scattered across
an area. Simplest technique is arithmetic average. More
sophisticated Thiessen polygon and isohyetal methods
provide different ways of weighting the individual data points
according to their area of influence.
 Chapter Highlights
6. Evaporation and evapotranspiration lead to water losses from the
surface and subsurface. Evaporation from surface-water bodies is
estimated from pan measurements. Evapotranspiration can be
measured using a lysimeter. Empirical methods (for example,
Thornthwaite, 1948) provide a useful alternative for estimating
potential evapotranspiration.
7. Infiltration, overland flow, and interflow processes occur at or close to
the ground surface. Of the precipitation falling to the ground, some
fraction moves downward and enters the soil as infiltration.
Sometimes a small proportion of infiltrated water flows in the
unsaturated zone to a nearby stream as interflow. As a rainstorm
continues, overland flow moves some of the water on the ground
surface to nearby streams. All of these processes vary with time and
space and depend on rainfall rate, soil characteristics, vegetation, and
topography.
8. A key parameter of interest to hydrologists is the stream discharge,
which is defined as the volume of water flowing past some location
per unit time (units like ft3/s).