Lecture Notes Hydrology

Department of Civil Engineering

School of Engineering, University of Nairobi
Dulo S.O
E-mail: sodulo@uonbi.ac.ke
Precipitation
Formation
Rainfall measurement
and analysis
Department of Civil Engineering
School of Engineering, University of Nairobi
Precipitation
The common forms of precipitations:
Drizzle/Mist: water droplets of diameters
less than 0.5 mm.
Snow: ice crystals combining to form flakes
with average specific gravity of about 0.1.
Sleet: rain water drops falling through air at
or below freezing temperatures, turned to
frozen rain drops.
Hail: precipitation in the form of ice balls of
diameter more than about 8 mm.
Precipitation cont.
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
Precipitation Formation
The 3 main mechanisms of air mass lifting
are
Frontal Lifting: warm air mass rises to pass
over cooler air by frontal passage.
Orographic Lifting: an air mass rises to
pass over a mountain range.
Convective Lifting: air is drawn upwards
by convective action.
The formation of precipitation requires the
lifting of an air mass in the atmosphere so that
it cools and some of its moisture condenses.
The Formation of Precipitation
Water droplets in clouds
are formed by
nucleation of vapor on
aerosols, then go
through many
condensation-
evaporation cycles as
they circulate in the
cloud, until they
aggregate into large
enough drops to fall
through the cloud base.
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.
Precipitation variation
Mean annual precipitation
Seasonal Precipitation variation
Normal monthly distribution of precipitation
Precipitation
Variety of Precipitation
Mean annual precipitation of the world in mm. (1977)
Precipitation
Variation of Precipitation
Precipitation varies in Space
Time
According to The general pattern
of atmospheric
circulation
Local factors
The average over a number of years of
observations of a weather variable is called
its normal value.
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
Rainfall gauges (WMO standard
types)
Can be Storage type
Recording type
Dines Tilting Syphon
Tipping bucket gauge
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 (Tilting syphon) 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-syphon
4-recording needle
5-drum with diagram
6-clock mechanism
3. Tele-rain gauge with tipping buckets
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
tipping buckets, which fill alternatively with water
from the collecting funnel, establishing the
electric contact.
The number of tipping is proportional to the
quantity of precipitation hp
Tipping bucket rain gauge
1 - collecting funnel
2 - tipping buckets
3 - electric signal
4 - evacuation
Rainfall Measurement
Tipping bucket rain gauge
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.
Minimum Raingauge Network Density
(WMO)
Ten percent of raingauge stations should be
equipped with self-recording gauges to know
the intensities of rainfall.
ARIAL RAINFALL
DETERMINATION
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
Mean Precipitation over an area
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
This method is suitable if the rain gauge stations are
uniformly distributed over the entire area and the
rainfall variation in the area is not large.
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
Arial Rainfall
Thiessen Polygon Method
The catchment is plotted to scale.
The gauging stations are then inserted on
the plot.
The lines joining adjacent stations are then
bisected by perpendiculars.
Each stations is then surrounded by a
polygon.
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 Thiessen coefficient
(weightage factor) of station i
A
A
i
Arial Rainfall
Thiessen Polygon Method
The method is better than the arithmetic
mean method since it assigns some
weightage to all rain gauge on area basis.
The rain gauge stations outside the
catchment can also be used effectively.
Once the weightage factors (thiessen
coefficient)for all the rain gauge stations are
computed, the calculation of the average
rainfall depth P is relatively easy for given
network of stations.
Arial Rainfall - Isohyetal Method
The catchment is plotted to scale
The gauging stations are then inserted on
the plot
Points of equal rainfall are joined to form
the isohyets
Since this method considers actual spatial
variation of rainfall, it is considered as the
best method for computing average
depth of rainfall.
Arial Rainfall - Isohyetal Method
An isohyet is a contour of equal rainfall.
Knowing the depths of rainfall at each rain gage
station of an area, assuming linear variation of
rainfall between any two adjacent stations, one
can draw a smooth curve passing through all
points indicating the same value of rainfall.
The area between two adjacent isohyets is
measured with the help of a planimeter.
Average depth of rainfall, P
] [
] [
1
values isohyte adjacent two pptof mean
X isohyets adjacent two between Area
A
P
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
2.6 Rainfall interpretation
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, 1
6 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
Preparation of Data
Before using rainfall data, it is necessary to check the
data for continuity and consistency
Missing data may be due to damage or fault in rain gauge
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
Interpretation of Rainfall Data
Estimating of Missing Data
) P .... P P (
M
1
P
m 2 1 x
]
N
P
....
N
P
N
P
[
M
N
P
m
m
2
2
1
1 x
x
m m 2 2 1 1 x
P b .... P b P b a P
0 a
i
x
i
MN
N
b
Rainfall data must be checked for continuity
consistency
before they are analyzed for any purpose.
The missing annual precipitation, Px
1, 2, 3,.,M = neighbouring rainfall stations
P
1
, P
2
, P
3
,.,P
m
= annual rainfall values
N
1
, N
2
, N
3
,.,N
m
= average rainfall values
Multiple Linear Regression
x
1
2
3
m
Interpretation of Rainfall Data
Test for Consistency of Precipitation Data
Changes in relevant conditions of a rain gauge
-Gauge location
-Exposure
-Instrumentation
-Observation techniques
-Surroundings
may cause a relative change in the rainfall
catchment of the rain gauge.
The consistency of the rainfall data needs to be
examined.
Test for record consistency
Some of the common causes for
inconsistency of record include:
Shifting of a raingauge station to a new
location,
The neighborhood of the station
undergoing a marked change.
Let a group of 5 to 10 base stations in the
neighbourhood of the problem station X
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.
Test for consistency record
(Double mass curve techniques)
x
P
avg
P
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
shown on the next slide
Test for consistency record
(Double mass curve techniques)
avg
P x
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
Assumption in the DMC
It is apparent that the more
homogeneous the base station records
are, the more accurate will be the
corrected values at station X.
A change in slope is normally taken as
significant only where it persists for more
than five years.
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
Rainfall Hyetograph ; cumulative
Hyetograph
The rainfall data in 5-minute
increments from gage 1-Bee in the
Austin storm.
Computation of rainfall depth and
intensity at a point
=1.17-0.00
=1.67-0.02
=3.81-0.00
=4.17-0.02
=3.81-0.00
=8.22-0.02
=8.20/2 =0.76/(5/60)
Computations of max rainfall depth
and intensity give index of how
severe a particular storm
is, compared to other storms
recorded at the same location, and
they provide useful data for design of
control structures.
Rainfall
Rainfall Hyetograph
Cumulative Rainfall Hyetograph
Time in minutes
I
n
c
r
e
m
e
n
t
a
l

R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

i
n

m
m

p
e
r

5

m
i
n
u
t
e
s
Rainfall Hyetograph:
Is a plot of rainfall depth or intensity
as a function of time.
Rainfall Depth (mm)
0.76 inch
Rainfall
Rainfall Hyetograph
Cumulative Rainfall Hyetograph
Time in minutes
C
u
m
u
l
a
t
i
v
e


R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

i
n

i
n
c
h
e
s
Cumulative Rainfall Hyetograph
/Rainfall Mass Curve:
Is a plot of cumulative rainfall as
a function of time.
=6.22-3.15
=6.73-1.17
=8.22-0.02
Depth-Area-Duration Curve
The technique of depth-area-duration
analysis (DAD) determines primarily the
maximum falls for different durations
over a range of areas. The data required
for a DAD analysis are shown in the
following figure.
To demonstrate the method, a storm lasting
24h is chosen and the isohyets of the total
storm are drawn related to the
measurements from 12 recording rain gauge
stations.
The accumulated rainfalls at each station for
four 6-h periods are given in the table.
To provide area weightings to the gauge
values, Thiessen polygons are drawn around
the rainfall stations over the isohytal pattern.
Step-by-step procedures for drawing
DAD curves
First, the areal rainfall depths over the
enclosing isohytal areas are determined
for the total storm.
The duration computations then proceed
as in the following table, where the area
enclosed (10km
2
) by the 150mm isohyet
is considered first. The areal rainfall over
the 10km
2
for the whole storm is 155mm.
The computations are continued by repeating
the method for the areas enclosed by all the
isohyets.
Depth-Area-Duration (DAD)curve
DAD curves are plots of accumulated average precipitation
versus area for different durations of a storm period.
Example 3
Arial Rainfall
Station Observed rainfall within
the area mm)
P2 20
P3 30
P4 40
P5 50
Total 140
Average Rainfall=140/4=35 mm
Arithmetic-Mean Method
Rainfall Gauge
Station
Rainfall, Pi (cm) Area of
Polygon, Ai
(km
2
)
Weightage
Factor (%),
A
i
/ A
i
x100
P
i
A
i
/ A
i
Garissa 20.3 22 1.13 0.23
Narok 88.1 0 0 0
Kisumu 60.9 0 0 0
Voi 54.7 0 0 0
Mombasa 48.1 62 3.19 1.53
Kitui 45.6 373 19.19 8.75
Baringo 60 338 17.39 10.43
Eldoret 84 373 19.19 16.12
Limuru 93.2 286 14.71 13.71
Kericho 140.6 236 12.41 17.07
Nyeri 154 254 13.07 20.13
Total 1,944 100.01 87.97
Example 4
Arial Rainfall
Thiessen Method
Station Observed
rainfall
mm)
Area
(km
2
)
Weighted
rainfall
mm)
P1 10 0.22 2.2
P2 20 4.02 80.4
P3 30 1.35 40.5
P4 40 1.60 64.0
P5 50 1.95 97.5
Total 9.14 284.6
Average Rainfall=284.6/9.14=31.1 mm
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
Example 5
Arial Rainfall
Isohyets Area
Enclosed
km
2
)
Average
Rainfall
(mm)
Rainfall
Volume
0.88 5* 4.4
1.59 15 23.9
2.24 25 56.0
3.01 35 105.4
1.22 45 54.9
0.20 53* 10.6
Total 9.14 255.2
Average Rainfall=255.2/9.14=27.9 mm
Isohyetal Method
20
10
30
40
50
Example 6
Arial Rainfall
] 0 . 154 6 . 140 2 . 93 0 . 84 0 . 60 6 . 45 1 . 48 7 . 54 9 . 60 1 . 88 3 . 20 [
11
1
P
cm 23 . 77 ) 5 . 849 (
11
1
The average depth of annual rainfall
precipitation as obtained at the rain
gage stations for a specified area are as
shown in figure. The values are in cm.
Determine the average depth of annual
precipitation using
(1) The arithmetic mean method
Example 7
Arial Rainfall
Rainfall
Guage
Station
Rainfall,
Pi (cm)
Area of
Polygon, Ai
(km
2
)
Weightage
Factor (%),
A
i
/ A
i
x100
P
i
A
i
/ A
i
1 20.3 22 1.13 0.23
2 88.1 0 0 0
3 60.9 0 0 0
4 54.7 0 0 0
5 48.1 62 3.19 1.53
6 45.6 373 19.19 8.75
7 60.0 338 17.39 10.43
8 84.0 373 19.19 16.12
9 93.2 286 14.71 13.71
10 140.6 236 12.41 17.07
11 154.0 254 13.07 20.13
Total 1,944 100.01 87.97
cm 97 . 87
A
A
P n ecipitatio Pr Annual Average
i
i
i
(2) Thiessen
Polygon Method
Example 8
Arial Rainfall
Isohyets
(cm)
Net Area,
Ai (km
2
)
Average
Precipitation, Pi (cm)
P
i
A
i
<30 96 25 2,400
30-60 600 45 27,000
60-90 610 75 45,750
90-120 360 105 37,800
120-150 238 135 32,130
>150 40 160 6,400
Total 1,944 151,480
mm 92 . 77
944 , 1
480 , 151
sin ba the for n ecipitatio Pr Annual Average
(3) Isohyetal
Method
Example 9
Sta.1
Sta.3
Sta.2
Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Average
1 1,486.20 2,472.20 1,113.40 1,486.20 2,472.20 1,113.40 1,690.60
2 1,475.70 2,468.80 1,482.90 2,961.90 4,941.00 2,596.30 3,499.73
3 1,403.80 2,001.30 953.10 4,365.70 6,942.30 3,549.40 4,952.47
4 793.80 1,917.50 521.20 5,159.50 8,859.80 4,070.60 6,029.97
5 962.60 2,130.90 812.70 6,122.10 10,990.70 4,883.30 7,332.03
6 964.20 1,819.80 1,673.60 7,086.30 12,810.50 6,556.90 8,817.90
7 1,056.90 1,851.80 925.10 8,143.20 14,662.30 7,482.00 10,095.83
8 1,217.00 2,783.00 794.10 9,360.20 17,445.30 8,276.10 11,693.87
9 1,737.00 3,034.00 775.20 11,097.20 20,479.30 9,051.30 13,542.60
10 1,096.90 1,492.50 1,355.40 12,194.10 21,971.80 10,406.70 14,857.53
11 1,165.90 2,020.00 575.90 13,360.00 23,991.80 10,982.60 16,111.47
12 1,458.00 2,504.70 1,126.60 14,818.00 26,496.50 12,109.20 17,807.90
13 1,132.60 2,042.90 819.20 15,950.60 28,539.40 12,928.40 19,139.47
14 1,272.80 2,115.30 827.50 17,223.40 30,654.70 13,755.90 20,544.67
15 1,484.10 2,236.60 1,036.00 18,707.50 32,891.30 14,791.90 22,130.23
16 818.60 1,922.30 826.60 19,526.10 34,813.60 15,618.50 23,319.40
17 865.40 2,379.40 835.20 20,391.50 37,193.00 16,453.70 24,679.40
18 1,168.70 2,609.80 710.00 21,560.20 39,802.80 17,163.70 26,175.57
19 939.30 2,177.40 776.40 22,499.50 41,980.20 17,940.10 27,473.27
20 984.10 1,928.60 874.80 23,483.60 43,908.80 18,814.90 28,735.77
21 969.80 3,088.20 943.60 24,453.40 46,997.00 19,758.50 30,402.97
22 1,275.90 2,443.40 961.30 25,729.30 49,440.40 20,719.80 31,963.17
23 1,810.20 2,689.40 646.50 27,539.50 52,129.80 21,366.30 33,678.53
24 1,110.70 2,938.30 1,170.40 28,650.20 55,068.10 22,536.70 35,418.33
25 1,349.70 1,571.10 1,174.60 29,999.90 56,639.20 23,711.30 36,783.47
26 1,580.10 2,568.70 1,312.10 31,580.00 59,207.90 25,023.40 38,603.77
27 1,214.10 2,127.00 322.80 32,794.10 61,334.90 25,346.20 39,825.07
28 1,229.30 2,317.20 1,195.00 34,023.40 63,652.10 26,541.20 41,405.57
29 926.70 2,199.00 566.40 34,950.10 65,851.10 27,107.60 42,636.27
30 1,464.70 2,117.90 773.10 36,414.80 67,969.00 27,880.70 44,088.17
Annual Rainfall (mm/yr) No Cumulative Rainfall
Annual Rainfall (mm/yr)
Cumulative Annual
Rainfall (mm/yr)
Double Mass Curve
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Accumulative Annual Rainfal of 3 station Mean (mm)
A
c
c
u
m
u
l
a
t
i
v
e

A
n
n
u
a
l

R
a
i
n
f
a
l
l

o
f

S
t
a
t
i
o
n
1

(
m
m
)
Station 2
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Accumulative Annual Rainfal of 3 station Mean (mm)
A
c
c
u
m
u
l
a
t
i
v
e

A
n
n
u
a
l

R
a
i
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Station 1
Example 9
The past response is to be related
to the present conditions.
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Accumulative Annual Rainfal of 3 station Mean (mm)
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Station 3
Double Mass Curve
How it rains
The surface is heated by
the sun
Air rises
Air expands and cools
Air condenses
Water droplets grow to
form raindrops
Air can rise in different
ways
Relief rainfall
Cyclonic or Fontal Rainfall
Depressions are areas of
low pressure formed when
cold and warm air meet
The warm air rises above
the cold air to form a
front
There are two types of
fronts depending on the
way in which the air
masses are moving.
Cyclonic Rainfall: Fronts
Warm fronts form
where warm air moves
towards cold air
Cold fronts form where
cold air moves towards
warm air
As air rises at fronts both
are responsible for rain
Convectional rainfall
Common on hot summer
days inland
Hot air rises quickly and
condenses to form
cumulonimbus
Water freezes at the top of
the cloud forming hail
Associated with lightning
Fair Weather
Fair weather is produced by
high pressure
High pressure forms
anticyclones
Air sinks and prevents the
formation of rain clouds
Anticyclones cause heat
waves in summer and
frosty/foggy mornings in winter
Forecasting the Weather
Modern forecasts use
computers to simulate the
likely weather based on
careful observations from
100s of weather stations
round the world
Satellite images and radar
give a better picture of the
weather over a wide area
A Satellite Image
A Radar Image
Cyclonic rainfall moving
in from the west
The brighter the colour,
the heavier the rainfall
Mountains intensify the
rain such as over the
Scottish Highlands
Rainfall Measurement
Rain gauge
A rain gauge collects rain and measures it.