Precipitation !

Radar Measurement of Rainfall

The meteorological radar is a powerful instrument for measuring the areal extent,
location and movement of rain storms. Further, the amounts of rainfall over large
areas can be determined through the radar with a good degree of accuracy.
The radar emits a regular succession of pulses of electromagnetic radiation in a
narrow beam. When raindrops intercept a radar beam, it has been shown that
CZ
Pr = (2.1)
r2
where Pr = average echopower, Z = radar-echo factor, r = distance to target volume
and C = a constant. Generally the factor Z is related to the intensity of rainfall as
Z = aIb (2.2)
where a and b are coefficients and I = intensity of rainfall in mm/h. The values a and
b for a given radar station have to be determined by calibration with the help of re-
cording raingauges. A typical equation for Z is
Z = 200 I1.60
Meteorological radars operate with wavelengths ranging from 3 to 10 cm, the
common values being 5 and 10 cm. For observing details of heavy flood-producing
rains, a 10-cm radar is used while for light rain and snow a 5-cm radar is used. The
hydrological range of the radar is about 200 km. Thus a radar can be considered to be
a remote-sensing super gauge covering an areal extent of as much as 100,000 km2.
Radar measurement is continuous in time and space. Present-day developments in the
field include (i) On-line processing of radar data on a computer and (ii) Doppler-type
radars for measuring the velocity and distribution of raindrops.

B. Snowfall
Snowfall as a form of precipitation differs from rainfall in that it may accumulate over
a surface for some time before it melts and causes runoff. Further, evaporation from
the surface of accumulated snow surface is a factor to be considered in analysis deal-
ing with snow. Water equivalent of snowfall is included in the total precipitation amounts
of a station to prepare seasonal and annual precipitation records.
Depth of Snowfall Depth of snowfall is an important indicator for many
engineering applications and in hydrology it is useful for seasonal precipitation and
long-term runoff forecasts. A graduated stick or staff is used to measure the depth of
snow at a selected place. Average of several measurements in an area is taken as the
depth of snow in a snowfall event. Snow stakes are permanent graduated posts used to
measure total depth of accumulated snow at a place.
Snow boards are 40 cm side square boards used to collect snow samples. These
boards are placed horizontally on a previous accumulation of snow and after a snow-
fall event the snow samples are cut off from the board and depth of snow and water
equivalent of snow are derived and recorded.
Water Equivalent of Snow Water equivalent of snow is the depth of water
that would result in melting of a unit of snow. This parameter is important in assessing
the seasonal water resources of a catchment as well as in estimates of stream flow and
floods due to melting of snow.