IMPORTANT PHASES OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

• PRECIPITATION
– IS ANY PRODUCT OF CONDENSATION OF ATMOSPHERIC WATER
FALLS UNDER GRAVITY
COLORLESS DROPLETS

-can quick produce

rain, but in other
side anything that is
more serious than
drizzle is the ice
crystal forming high
at
the atmosphere
ICE CRYSTALS
AGGREGATION
CRYSTAL

SNOWFLAKES
 FORMS OF PRECIPITATION
RAIN (>0.5 mm diameter)
For rate of fall
Light - up to2.5 mm/hr
Moderate - from 2.8 to 7.6 mm/hr
Heavy - Over 7.6 mm/hr
• is the most common type
of precipitation in our
atmosphere
• There are two diffrent
forms of rain, either
in the form of
•showers
Showers - are heavy, large
drops of rain and usually only
•drizzle
last a period of time
Drizzle - however usually last
longer and are made up of
MIST/DRIZZLE

• a cloud of tiny water

droplets suspended in
the atmosphere at or
near the earth's
surface limiting
visibility, but to a
lesser extent than fog

Diameter range between

0.1 - 0.5 mm
GLAZE
• Glaze is the ice coating, generally clear
and smooth, formed on exposed surfaces by
freezing of super cooled water deposited by
rain or drizzle.

Specific gravity may

be high as 0.8-0.9
SNOW

• Snow forms when water vapor turns directly

into ice without ever passing through a
liquid state. This happens as water
condenses around an ice crystal.

Density of freshly fallen snow

varies between 125-500mm
of snow required to equal
25mm of liquid water.

Average densIty (Specific

gravity) = 0.1
HAIL

• is precipitation in the form of balls of ice,

produced in convective clouds, mostly
cumulonimbus.
DEW
• tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces
at night, when atmospheric vapor condenses.
• the small drops of water which can be found on
cool surfaces like grass in the morning.
SLEET

• consist of transparent, globular, sold grains

of ice formed by the freezing of raindrops or
freezing of largely melted ice crystals
falling through a layer of subfreezing air
neer the earth's surface.
MECHANISM TO FORM PRICIPITATION

1. Lifting mechanism to cool the

air
2. Formation of cloud elements(Droplets/ Ice
Crystal)

3. Growth of cloud elements

1. Lifting mechanism to cool the air
Lifting mechanism gives the Three main
types of Precipitation.
• Cyclonic Precipitation (Frontal/ Non
Frontal)

• Convective Precipitation

• Orographic Precipitation
Cyclonic Precipitation
(Frontal/Non Frontal)
• Frontal precipitation results from the leading
edge(front) of a warm air mass meets a cool air mass.
The warmer air mass is forced up over the cool air. As
it rises the warm air cools, moisture in the air
condensation, that results to clouds and precipitation.
Convective Precipitation

Convective precipitation results from the

heating of the Earth's surface that causes air to
rise rapidly. As the air rises, it cools and
moisture condenses into clouds and precipitation
 Orographic Precipitation

It results when warm moist air of the ocean is

forced to rise by large mountain . As the air rises
it cools, moisture in the air condenses and clouds
and precipitation results on the windward side of
Formation of Clouds Elements
(Droplets/Ice Crystals)
m particles
• For droplets, hygroscopic nuclei, small
(1-10 ) having affinity for water must be
available in upper troposphere.
• For ice crystals, Freezing Nuclei are required

• Source of condensation nuclei are particles of sea

salts, products of sulphurous and nitric acid
• Source of freezing nuclei are clay minerals, usually
kaolin, silver iodide etc.
MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION

• Amount of precipitation

• Intensity of precipitation

• Duration of precipitation

• Arial extent of precipitation

 MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION
• Measurement of precipitation (Rain and Snow) can
be done by various devices. This measuring
devices and techniques are;

• Rain Gauges
•Snow Gauges
•Radars
•Satellites
•Scratching of Snow packs
•Water Equivalent in Sow packs
RAIN GAGES
• Rain gages are most commonly used for the
measurement of precipitation, both in terms
of rain fall and snow.
There are two main types of Rain gages which are
used to measure the precipitation. These are;

1. Non-recording rain gages

2. Recording gages
Non-recording rain gauges
• It is rain gage with does not provide the
distribution of amount of precipitation in
day. It simply gives the amount of
precipitation after 24 hours (daily
precipitation)
Recording rain gauges
• These rain gauges are also called integrating rain
gauges since they record cumulative rainfall. In
addition to the total amount of rainfall at a
station , it gives the times of onset and
cessation of rains (tgereby gives the duration
Three events)
orainfall types of Recording Rain gauges
1. Tipping bucket rain gages
2. Weighing type rain gages
3. Float type rain gages
Tipping Bucket gauges
• A tipping rain gauge is ised for measurement
of rainfall. It measure the rainfall with a
least count of 1 mm and gives one electrical
pulse for every millimeter of rainfall
Weighing type gauges
• It consist of a storage bin, which is weighed to
record the mass. It weighs rain or snow which
falls into a bucket, set on a platform with a
spring or lever balanve. The increasing weight of
the and its contents are recorded on a chart. The
record shows accumulation of precipitation
 Float recording gages

• the rise of the float

with increasing catch of
rainfall is recorded.
Some gauges must be
emptied manually while
others emptied
automatically using self
siphons. rests
receiver In most
on agauges
bath of oil or mercury and float
oil measures
the or mercury is of
the rise thethe oil or mercurydisplaced by
float
the and is weight
increasing placed ofinthe receiver as rainfall catch
the receiverFloats
accumulates. , butmay in
be damaged if the raifall catch
some cases the
freezes.
 Errors in precipitation
measurement by Rain Gauges
• Instrumental errors
• Errors in scale reading
• Dent in receiver
• Dent in measuring
cylinders
• Rain gauges splash from
collector
• Frictional Affects
• Loss of water by
evaporation
• Leakage inasuring cylinder
Radar Measurement
• A weather radar is a type of radar used to
locate precipitation, calculate its motion,
estimate its type (rain, snow, hail, sleet etc.)
and forecast its future position and intensity.
weather radars are mostly Droppler radar,
capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets
in addition to intensity of the precipitation .
Both types of data can be analyzed to determine
the structure of storms and their potential to
cause severe weather.
Satellite Measurements

• a weather satellite is a
type of satellite that is
primarily used to monitor
the weather and climate
of the Earth. These
meteorogical satellites,
however, see more than
clouds and cloud systems,
like other types of
environmental information
collected using weather
satellites.
Interpretation of Precipitation Data

Interpretation of missing precipitation data

include;

1. Estimating missing precipitation data at a

station.

2. Checking inconsistency in particular data at a

station.

3. Average precipitation over an area.

1. Estimating missing precipitation
data at a station.

Missing precipitation data is estimated by two

commonly used methods.

• Arithmetic Mean Method

• Normal Ratio Method (NRM)
Arithmetic Mean Method
• Arithmetic mean method is used when normal
annual precipitation is within 10% of tha gauge
for which data are being reconstructed. This
method is least accurate however.

where:
Pm = precipitation at the missing location
Pi = precipitationcat the index station 1
N = number of rain gauges
Normal ratio method (NRM)
• In the normal ratio method, the rainfall PA at station
A is estimated as a function of the normal monthly or
annual rainfall of the station under question and those
of the neighboring stations for the period of missing
data at the station nunder question.
NR
 A
il
 P I
 NR I
P A
n

where;
Pi = is the rainfall at surrounding stations
NRA = is the normal monthly or seasonal rainfall atstation A
NRi = is the normal monthly or seasonal rainfall at station i, and
n = is the number of surrounding stations whose data are used for
estimation.
Checking inconsistency in a
particular data record at a
station.
• By a technique called Double Mass Curve
Analysis

• It is used to check the consistency of many

kinds of hydrologic data by comparing date for
a single station with that of a pattern
composed of the data from several other
stations in the area.

• The double-mass analysis curve can be used to

Double Mass Curve Analysis
The theory of the double-mass curve is
based on the fact that a plot of the two
commulative quantities during the same period
exhibits a straight line so long as the
proportionality between the two remains
unchanged, and the slope of the line
represents the proportionality. This method
can smooth a time series and suppress random
elements in the series, and thus show the main
trends of the time series.
Averaging precipitation over area

It is the amount of
precipitation which can be assumed
uniform over an area. If the
average precipitation over an area
is known than total rain, volume
of water can be computed for that
avg.
area.

Rain volume = P × A
 There are some widely used methods to
compute average precipitation over an area, but
the most common of these used are:

• Arithmetic Method
• Theissen polygon method
• Isohytal method
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