MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION

All forms of precipitation are essentially measured on the basis of the vertical
depth of water that would accumulate on a level surface if the precipitation is
retained where it fell.

Precipitation is usually measured in millimeters and centimeters.

A small surface area is taken for the purpose of measurement and the volume of
precipitation water collected over that area is divided by the area to give the depth
of precipitation.

The precipitation is measured by an instrument called a raingauge. Raingauge is

also variously known as hyetometer, ombrometer or pluviometer.

The raingauges are of two types.

1. Non recording type or ordinary raingauges
2. Recording type or automatic raingauges.

NON RECORDING RAINGAUGES

Standard non recording raingauge prescribed by the IMD is the Symons
gauge.
The gauge consists of a funnel with a sharp edged rim of 127 mm diameter, a
cylindrical body, a receiver with a narrow neck and handle and a splayed base
which is fixed in the ground.
The rain falling into the funnel is collected in the receiver kept inside the body
and is measured by means of a special measure glass.

The gauge is fixed on a masonry or concrete foundation of size 60cm x 60cm x

60cm which is sunk into the ground. Into this foundation the base of the gauge
is cemented so that the rim of the gauge is exactly 30 cm above ground level.
The top of the gauge should be perfectly horizontal.
At the time of observation the funnel is removed, the receiver is taken out and
the rain water collected in the receiver is carefully poured into the measure glass
and read without any parallax error.
The measured rainfall in the 24 hours ending with 8.30 A.M is recorded as the
rainfall of the day.

RECORDING RAINGAUGES
Non recording raingauges give the amount of rainfall only. They cannot
provide
the information regarding when exactly the rain commenced,
when the rain ended, what is the intensity of rainfall and how the intensity of
rainfall varies within the duration of the storm.
In order to record the beginning and end of the rain and to measure the intensity
of rainfall, a continuous record of rainfall with time is required. For this purpose
recording raingauges are used.
Recording raingauges usually work by having a clock driven drum carrying a
graph on which a pen records the cumulative depth of rainfall continuously.
Some Recording rain gauges are
Tipping (or tilting) bucket type
Weighing bucket type
Float type (with siphon arrangement).

TIPPING BUCKET RAINGAUGE

The principle involved is very simple. A container is divided vertically into

two compartments and is balanced in an unstable equilibrium about a
horizontal axis. In its normal position it rests against one of the two
stoppers which prevent it from tipping over completely.

The rain is led from a conventional collecting funnel into the uppermost
compartment and after a predetermined rain (0.25mm) has fallen the bucket
becomes unstable in its present position and tips over to its other
position of rest.

The compartments of the container are so shaped that water can flow out of
the lower one and leave it empty; meanwhile the rain falls into the upper
compartment again.

The movement of buckets as it tips over can be used to operate an electric

circuit and produce a record.

The record thus consists of discontinuous steps, the distance between each
step representing the time taken for small amount of rain to fall.

DISADVANTAGES
1. If the buckets are designed to tip at a convenient frequency for a particular
intensity of rainfall, they will tip either too soon or too late for other intensities.
As a result both the intensity and amount of rainfall recorded will be in error.
2. Owing to the discontinuous nature of the record, the instrument is not
satisfactory for use in light drizzle or very light rain.
3. The time of beginning and ending of rainfall cannot be determined accurately.
4. This gauge is not suitable for measuring snow without heating the collector.

ADVANTAGE
1. It can be used in remote places by installing the recorder at a convenient and
easily accessible location.

WEIGHING BUCKET RAINGAUGES

The rain falling on the receiving area is collected by the funnel and is led
into a storage bucket which rests on a weighing platform.
The weight of the rainfall received since the recording began is recorded
continuously by transmitting the movement of the platform through a
system
of links and levers to a pen which makes a trace on a
suitably graduated chart secured around a drum.
The drum is driven mechanically by a spring clock. This type has no
provision
for emptying itself, to overcome this a mechanism may be
arranged to reverse
the travel of the pen after certain amount of
precipitation has accumulated and reverse again after another equal
amount so that the gauge may operate
unattended for a week at a
time.

ADVANTAGES:
1. It can record snow, hail and mixture of rain and snow.
.

DISADVANTGES:
1. The effects of temperature and friction on weighing mechanism may introduce
errors in the record.
2. Shrinkage and expansion of the chart paper caused by changes in humidity may
distort the time and the scale of rainfall.
3. Failure of reverse mechanism results in the loss of record.

FLOAT TYPE RAINGAUGE

Also known as the siphon type raingauge as it uses the siphon mechanism
to empty the rainwater collected in the float chamber. This is adopted by
I.M.D.

Rain water entering the gauge at the top is led into the float chamber
through a funnel and filter. The purpose of the filter is to prevent dust and other
particles from entering the float chamber which may hinder the siphon
mechanism.
The float chamber consists of a float with a vertical stem protruding
outside, to the top of which a pen is mounted. This pen rests on a chart
secured around a clock driven drum.

There is a small compartment by the side of the float chamber which is

connected to the float chamber through a small opening at the bottom. This
is called the siphon chamber which houses a small vertical pipe with
bottom end open and the top end almost touching the top of the chamber.

WORKING:

During the storm the rainwater collected in the float chamber raises the water
surface in it and along with the water surface the float also rises enabling the
pen to make a trace of cumulative depth of rainfall on the chart.

When the float chamber is completely filled with water, the pen reaches the
top of the chart. At this instant the siphoning occurs automatically through the
pipe in the siphon chamber, the float chamber is emptied and the pen is
brought to zero on the chart again. As the rain continues the pen rises again
from the zero of the chart

DISADVANTAGE
1. This gauge cannot record precipitation in the form other than rain unless some
sort of heating device is provided inside the gauge.
2. The float may be damaged if the rainfall catch freezes.

ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT OF RAINFALL

Generally the raingauge underestimates the rainfall that would have fallen on
the ground in the absence of the gauge. The magnitude of the underestimate
depends on the type of the gauge, the height of the rim of the gauge above
the ground surface, the intensity of rainfall, the wind speed etc.

Some rainfall will be utilized to wet the receiving surface which is initially
dry. This rainfall goes unrecorded as it evaporates back into the atmosphere,
resulting in an under estimate of rainfall.

Dents in the collector rim of the gauge may change its receiving area again
resulting in underestimate of rainfall.

In non recording gauges the improper reading of measuring cylinder, the

spilling of some of the water when transferring it to the measuring jar and the
inability to transfer all the water from the receiver to the measuring jar
produces error.

LOCATION OF RAINGAUGE
The amount of rainfall collected by a raingauge depends on its exposure
conditions and therefore great care must be exercised in selecting a
suitable site for its location.
The gauge shall be placed on a level ground, not upon a slope or a terrace
and never on a wall or roof.
On no account the raingauge shall be place on a slope such that the
ground falls away steeply in the direction of prevailing wind.
The distance of the raingauge from any object shall not be less than twice
the height of the object above the rim of the gauge.
Great care shall be taken at mountain and coast stations so that the gauges
are not unduly exposed to the sweep of the wind. A belt of trees or a
wall on the side of the prevailing wind at a distance exceeding twice its
height shall form an efficient shelter.
In hills where it is difficult to find a level space, the site for the gauge
shall be chosen where it is best shielded from high winds and where the
wind does not cause eddies.

RAINGAUGE NETWORK:

The sampling area provided by a raingauge is extremely small. In order to get

reasonably accurate estimate of the average depth of rainfall over an area it is
desirable to have as a large number of gauges as possible.

The ratio of total area of the catchment to the total number of gauges in the
catchment is defined as the raingauge density or the network density- It should
be as small as possible.

The actual gauge density to be adopted will be governed by many factors such
as topography, climate, the state of development of the region and largely by
the finances available to install and maintain the network and by the uses for
which the data are intended.

A network should be so planned that it yields a representative picture of the

areal distribution of rainfall.

The world Meteorological Organization, WMO has laid down certain norms for
minimum network density
Region I :

Flat regions of temperature, Mediterranean and tropical zones

Minimum = 1 gauge for 600 to 900 km2
Tolerable = 1 gauge for 900 to 3000 km2

Region II :

Mountainous areas of temperate, Mediterranean and tropical zones

Minimum = 1 gauge for 100 to 250 km2
Tolerable = 1 gauge for 250 to 1000 km2

Region III :

Arid Zones
Minimum = 1 gauge for 1500 to 10000 km2

Density of raingauge network varies widely from country to country and from region
to region within the country

The Indian Standards Institution, ISI recommended

1.

One gauge per 520 km2 in plain areas, with denser network for the areas lying in
the path of low pressure systems.

2.

One gauge per 260 to 390 km2 in regions with an average elevation of 1000 m
above the mean sea level

3.

One gauge per 130 km2 in predominantly hilly regions with heavy rainfall, higher
density being preferred wherever possible.

The adequacy of the number of gauges in the existing network may be

ascertained following the procedure given by Indian Standards. The optimum
number of rain gauges N is given by
N = ( Cv / P ) 2

P is the allowable degree of error in estimating the average depth of rainfall over the
area
Cv is the coefficient of variation of the rainfall recorded at the m existing raingauge
station
If

N < m - No more gauges required.

N > m - additional gauges required given by (N-m) rounded to highest integer