PRECIPITATIO

N GAUGES &
PRECIPITATIO
N DATA
Reporter: Mary Grace E. Ca
There are 3 different methods by
which the air mass gets lifted, so as to
cause cooling and condensation of the
atmospheric water vapour, and the
subsequent precipitation mainly in the
form of rain or sometimes under
special conditions as snow, hail, sleet,
etc.
7.9 Types Of Precipitation
1. Cyclonic Precipitation- caused by lifting of an
air mass due to pressure difference.

o If low pressure occurs in an area, air will flow

horizontally, causing air in the low pressure area to lift
and the resulting precipitation is called non-frontal
cyclonic precipitation.
o If one air mass lifts over another air mass, the
precipitation is called frontal cyclonic precipitation.
o The boundary between these two air masses of
different temperatures and densities is known as
front/frontal surface.
 The large whirling mass of air, at the centre
of which the barometric pressure is low is
known as a cyclone. The cyclone is a very
large mass of air ranging from 800-1600
km in diameter and moving with a velocity
of about 50 km/hr.

Cyclonic Precipitation can occur in the form

of drizzle, intermittent rain, or steady rain.
 If the precipitation is caused by a cold front, it is
very intense and of short duration while that
caused by a warm front is more continuous.

An occluded front occurs when a cold front over-

takes a warm front. The precipitation pattern is a
combination of both cold and warm frontal
distributions. A cold front is that in which the
warm air replaces the colder air, whereas in a
warm front the case is opposite.
7.9 Types Of Precipitation
2. Convective Precipitation- caused due to the
upward movement of the air that is warmer than
its surroundings. This precipitation occurs in the
form of showers of high intensity and short
duration.
3. Orographic Precipitation- most important
precipitation, caused by air masses which strike
some natural topographic barriers like
mountains, and cannot move forward and hence
rise up, causing condensation and precipitation.
The rainfall is composed of showers and steady
rainfall.
7.10 Measurement of Rainfall by Rain Gauges

All forms of precipitation are measured as

the vertical depths of water that would
accumulate on a level surface, if the entire
precipitation remained where it fell. The two
important parts of precipitation (rain &
snow) are measured separately by measuring
devices, called rain gauges and snow gauges.
Since the amount of precipitation varies from
place to place, it is necessary to install
measuring devices at various key points.
 The simplest method of measuring
precipitation is by setting up gauges with a
horizontal circular aperture of known area.,
and collecting and measuring at regular
intervals the precipitation collected in
them. It is assumed that the amount of
precipitation collected in the gauge is
representative of a certain area around the
point where the measurement is made.
7.10.1 Types Of Rain Gauges
Rain Gauges are any open
refined receptacles with
vertical sides for measuring
rainfall.
1) Non-recording Rain
Gauges- known as non-
recording type because
they do not record the
rain, but only collect the
rain.
7.10.1 Types Of Rain Gauges
2) Recording Type Rain Gauges- rain gauges that give
us a permanent automatic rainfall record without
any bottle reading. There is a mechanical
arrangement by which the total amount of rain
fallen, since the record was started, gets recorded
automatically on a graph paper. Since such gauges
represent the cumulative rain, they are sometimes
called as integrating rain gauges. Moreover, such
gauges can provide us with continuous recorded
measurements for a number of days. Such gauges
are, therefore, also sometimes known as continuous
rain gauges.
 Recording Type Rain
Gauges
Tipping Bucket
Gauge. Rainwater
is first caught in a
collector and
passed through a
funnel which
discharges the
water into a two-
compartment
bucket. No graph
paper installed,
rainfall
measurements are
directly recorded
at the control
room.
 Recording Type Rain
Gauges
Weighing Type Gauge-
weighs the rain which
falls into a bucket
placed on the platform
of a spring or a lever
balance, or other
weighing mechanism.
The increasing weight
of the bucket helps in
recording the
increasing quantity of
collected rain, with
time, by moving a pen
on a revolving drum.
 Recording Type Rain
Gauges
Float Recording Gauges. The
rise of floating body due to the
increasing rain catch, helps in
lifting the pen point, which
goes on recording the
cumulative rain with time on a
graph paper wrapped round a
rotating drum. Such a gauge
may be emptied either
manually or by self-starting
syphons. The rotating drum
completes one revolution in 24
hours, or sometimes in 7 days ,
depending upon the gauge, and
the graph chart will have to be
replaced after this much of
time.
7.11 Errors In Rain-Gauge Measurement
And Estimating True Rain-Catch
 The amount of rainwater collected and measured by a rain
gauge may not always represent the exact amount, which
would have been caught, if there were no factors trying to
err the recorded amount.
 Of all the possible errors , the most serious error is
introduced by wind, which may result in a vertical
acceleration of air, forced upward over the gauge.
 Various methods and formulas have been put forward to
estimate the true or actual amount of rainfall from the
observed rain catch measurements.


Pu- unshielded gauge catch

P- actual precipitation
Ps- shielded gauge catch
b- calibration coefficient
7.12 Estimating Missing Rainfall Data

Sometimes, the rainfall amount at a certain rain gauge

station for a certain day(s), may be missing due to the
absence of some observer or instrumental failure. In such
cases, it might be needed to estimate the missing rainfall
amount by approximating the value from the data of the
nearby rain gauge stations. Following methods are generally
adopted for computing the missing rainfall data.

N1, N2, N3 and Nx represents the average annual rainfalls at

stations 1, 2, 3, and X respectively; and P1, P2, P3, and Px
represent their respective precipitation data of the day for
which the data is missing at station X; then we have
When average annual precipitation at
any of the three stations differs from
that at the station in question by more
than 10%, the normal ratio method is
used.
Example:
Precipitation Station X was inoperative for part of a month during which a
storm occured. The respective storm totals at three surrounding stations a, b,
and c were 107, 89 and 122 mm. The normal annual precipitation amounts of
stations x, a, b and c are respectively, 978, 1120, 935 and 1200 mm. Estimate
the storm precipitation for station X.

Solution.
Nx=average annual precipitation at x=978 mm
So, 10% of Nx=97.8 mm
Maximum permissible annual ppt. at either of the three stations for taking
ordinary mean = 978+97.8 mm = 1075.8 mm < 1120 and 1200 mm (given)

Annual ppt. at 2 of the 3 stations differ by more than 10% of Nx hence,

weighted mean should be taken.

Hence, missing precipitation data= 95.3 mm. Ans.

7.13 Checking The Consistency Of Data Of A
Rain Gauge Station

Sometimes a significant change may occur in

and around a particular rain gauge station.
Such a change occuring in a particular year,
will start affecting the rain gauge data, being
reported from that particular station. After a
number of years, it may be felt that the data of
that station is not giving consistent rainfall
values. To detect such future inconsistencies,
and to correct and adjust reported rainfall
values, a technique, called double mass curve
method, is adopted.
Double Mass Curve Method

In this method, a group of 5-10 neighbouring stations

are chosen, in the vicinity of the doubtful station. The
yearly rainfall values, reported from this group of
stations are serialled, and their mean yearly values are
worked out for each consecutive year of available
record. These mean yearly rainfall values (of chosen
group of stations) are serially arranged in a reverse
chronological order (latest year getting the first entry).
Against these values, the recorded yearly rainfall values
of the doubtful station are also serialled for each year.
The cumulative ppt values of the doubtful station, X, say
⨊Px, and the cumulative values of the group averages
say ⨊Pav, are then plotted on the graph paper as shown.
The ppt. values at station X, prior to the
period of change, are then corrected by
using the relation:
Example
The annual rainfall data, being reported from a
station A, for 22 years are available, since 1969. In
order to check the consistency of this data, 6
neighbouring stations have been chosen and the
annual rainfall values of these stations have been
averaged for all the years on record since 1969.
These values are given in ff. table.
(a) Find out inconsistency in ppt. record of station A
is indicated. And if yes, since when a change in ppt.
regime is indicated.
(b) Adjust the recorded data at station A and
determine its mean annual precipitation.
Solution:
The given data is arranged in a reverse chronological
order, and their cumulative values are worked out, in
the following table.
A graph is now plotted between the values of
col. (3) & (5) as shown. Corresponding years
from col. (1) are also marked on the
corresponding plotted points.
A perusal of this figure shows that the inconsistency has
occured from 1978. Hence, the present data, since 1978-
1990 will be treated as correct, and the previous data
prior to the year 1978, will be corrected. In other words,
the ppt. values of years 1977-1969 will be corrected.

The correction ratio is

The yearly ppt. values of station A (Pa) between the
years 1977-1969 are thus, corrected by multiplying
the original values by 0.825, as shown.
The final adjusted values of annual ppt. at station A
are serialled in the following table and their mean
value is determined as equal to 141.6 cm. Ans.