The rainfall tag has no usage guidance.
6
votes
1answer
59 views
Why is there no desert in Southeast China?
Arabia, Sahara and Southeast China and India all are on the tropic of Cancer yet Southeast China and India are not deserts. I know that India is not a desert because of monsoon wind which causes heavy ...
9
votes
2answers
716 views
Why do rivers sometimes travel down the opposite side of the mountains from where the rain happens?
My teacher explained that when wind coming from the ocean gets blocked by a mountain it makes rain on one side of the mountain, like in the image below. This rain leads to the creation of rivers.
(...
33
votes
9answers
10k views
What does a mm of rain mean?
Lots of people have explained it over many sites but I still can not confidently say that I know what it means when they say Hong Kong experienced 3mm of rainfall last Friday.
Does it mean that 3mm ...
1
vote
1answer
25 views
monthly temperatue by state
I am trying to find out monthly average temperature and average rainfall for states of USA from 2015 to 2017. To my surprise I am not able to find it anywhere. Please help.
I could find this link - ...
5
votes
0answers
33 views
What are typical ranges of rainfall drop sizes, speeds, and areal or volume densities?
I'd like to look into the possibility of using a Raspberry Pi and the PiCam module to detect rain, and to try to make some measurements of droplet size and rate. This could be done using an LED flash ...
6
votes
0answers
84 views
Do Siberia and Canada have a rasputitsa?
The rasputitsa is a muddy season that happens twice per year in West Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. It happens in mid-October to late November due to rains, and mid-March to late April due to thaws (...
2
votes
1answer
35 views
Calculating mean time spent precipitating for a specified period/area?
I would like to calculate the prior probability of active precipitation currently taking place at any random moment during a year.
The area I’m looking at (London, UK) has averages of 601.7mm of rain ...
5
votes
0answers
46 views
Does a hurricane classification exists where estimated rainfall is taken into account?
Hurricanes are classified with the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. However an extreme amount of rainfall can cause a disaster although the windspeeds are not extreme. Is there some sort of ...
92
votes
6answers
18k views
How can a storm drop 40 inches (1 metre) of rain?
Hurricane Harvey dumped more that 20 inches (500 mm) of rain over a large region, with 40+ (>1000 mm) in some spots... and much more expected.
How is that possible?
Does the atmosphere really hold ...
2
votes
1answer
296 views
How to prepare GrADS's .ctl file to convert grd file into .nc file in batch mode?
I have lots of grd (GrADS) file and I want to convert those data into netCDF file using cdo. The operation needs all the corresponding ctl file and I will have to prepare all these. So, my question is ...
1
vote
1answer
101 views
Area reduction factor reference for precipitation
For a large catchment (>1000ha) I'm looking for some method to use a area reduction factor to adapt precipitation values. I have a large dataset of daily precipitation values but I have to use some ...
1
vote
4answers
304 views
6
votes
2answers
153 views
Why is northern Australia unsuitable for agriculture?
Northern Australia receives substantial rainfall, but its population is minimal.
For instance the Kimberley region in the state of Western Australia gets more than 20 in. of rainfall per year, but ...
5
votes
1answer
90 views
Where can I find the record for the heaviest single-day rainfall ever recorded on any date at a specific location?
I need to find out the largest amount of rainfall ever recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Where could I find this record?
6
votes
1answer
93 views
Why is thunder and lightning rare, even though it rains frequently?
Why in some places (for example Dublin, Ireland) the thunder and lightning is such a rare thing even though it rains so frequently?
3
votes
0answers
92 views
To what degree do large lakes influence precipitation levels compared to the ocean?
I was wondering what percentage of precipitation could be estimated to have been contributed by large lakes such as the Great Lakes or Lake Baikal in the immediate vicinity of said lakes (say, within ...
6
votes
3answers
87 views
Accepting/refusing high rainfall measurement
I have a series of records of annual maximum daily rainfall for a station for about 80 years (1935-2014). Only one value is very high compared with the others, but in this year, the other close rain-...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
How do rivers last so long in dry weather?
I got caught in a downpour while climbing a mountain and was amazed to see, as I climbed down, the tiny trickles of water combine to form mini-streams, the dry rocks I had climbed up now hosted ...
3
votes
1answer
131 views
What statistical methods are best for analyzing long-term rainfall data?
What statistical tools are best analysing rainfall data (overall trends, decadal trends, intensity distribution, extremes, etc.)?
2
votes
1answer
81 views
National Weather Service “average daily/yearly” (temp, rainfall) life cycle?
Does anyone know the "life-cycle" of the averages used for daily and yearly temperatures and rainfall by the National Weather Service?
I have lived in the same (semi-desert) area for over 40 yrs, and ...
5
votes
4answers
295 views
How can we calculate the total water mass that falls during a flood?
I would like to know how to calculate how much water fell on California during, for instance, the mid-February 2017 flood. I know how to look up the total rainfall at a specific weather station. And,...
6
votes
1answer
106 views
Need help understanding rain rate formulas from drop sizes
I have come across different formulas by which the rain rate [mm/s] or [mm/h] can be computed from the drop size distribution.
I'm somehow unable to convert the different formulas into each other. It ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Changes in rainfalls, sea level and tropical cyclones
Is there any scientific evidence that exploitation of natural resources (fossil energies, forests etc.) affects rainfalls or sea level, which can represent extreme events?
I read IPCC 2014 report and ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
How to identify low or high pressure area
If rain is due to the flow of humid air from a high pressure area to a low pressure area, without the use of devices, technology or mass media is it possible to detect regions of high or low ...
9
votes
1answer
535 views
Causes and concentration of red rain of Kerala
The red rain phenomenon in Kerala, India has been reported several times in history (1896, 2001, 2012). The color of the rain seems to be associated with the presence of airborne spores of the algae ...
9
votes
2answers
221 views
Could a reported rainfall pH of 3.1 actually be realistic?
In this Chemistry question Is there any reason to fear personal exposure to rain with a pH of 3.1? I haven't gotten any answer, but there was some discussion about the reality of the measurement.
So ...
8
votes
4answers
220 views
Any historical examples of destructive climate warming?
Summation: Local cooling climate changes, since the last ice age seem relatively common and all seem to cause significant harm to human population. But I can't find instances of the reverse, warming ...
1
vote
2answers
5k views
How does elevation affect the amount of rainfall received?
How does elevation affect the amount of rainfall received? Does elevation affect precipitation?
2
votes
2answers
579 views
Does the amount of rainfall relate to temperatures of a place?
Does the amount of rainfall relate to temperatures of a place? Is the amount of rainfall related to the maximum mean temperature of a place?
3
votes
0answers
111 views
Desert greening - Do we have long term (several decades) data on precipitation around the Sahara?
This article of desert greening states that some areas around the Sahara have seen increased plant growth in recent decades, caused by global warming. The causal chain would be warmer air can hold ...
6
votes
2answers
5k views
How much time does water takes to reach to the ground?
I want to understand the phenomena where water droplets after precipitation reaches to the ground.
How much time does it take to become ground water or in other words how much time is taken by water ...
2
votes
1answer
115 views
Reason for rotting smell after first rain of the season?
Last day we had first rain after 3-4 months of hot&dry weather, and within 3-4 minutes a rotting smell came from nowhere. Due this smell I had running nose for a day. What might be the reason for ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
When GCMs are calibrated do they use 'corrected rainfall' input?
Part of calibrating Global Climatic Models involves 'hindcasts' or 'history matching' against historic climate records, including rainfall. Such rainfall records are all in error because almost all ...
7
votes
1answer
132 views
The sun sometimes appears pure white after rainfall, how can this be explained?
I've noticed on multiple occasions, that after heavy rainfall, the sun appears a pure glistening white, even if it's already standing low in the sky. I can't discount psycho-visual effects as an ...
6
votes
1answer
65 views
Is there a method to determine the point rainfall intensity for small catchments?
I need to design a weir for a small earth dam in an arid area with a small (smaller than 200 ha), fairly flat catchment area in southern Africa. The idea behind the dam is to collect not more than 10 ...
9
votes
1answer
444 views
Can earthquakes affect the atmosphere?
Recently an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 shook the northeastern region of India, where I live. After the earthquake, the climate has changed dramatically resulting in excessive hail showers, ...
6
votes
2answers
111 views
How to determine constant $C$ in $p(x) = Cx^{-D}$?
Given a distribution obeying the power-law (fractal) relation, such as the cumulative distribution function $L_{cf}(> X) = CR^{-D}$, if $X$ is given, how does one find the constant $C$ from a given ...
3
votes
1answer
186 views
Extreme rainfall events
Extreme rainfall events have different intensities at different places depending on the availability of water to precipitate. Can anyone explain how do we define/determine extreme rainfall events in a ...
1
vote
1answer
104 views
How can we predict if it's raining, drizzling or there is snow fall by using precipitation intensity (inches/hour)?
I was analyzing a dataset in which precipitation intensity(inches/hr) and the type of precipitation was given. For example:
...
2
votes
0answers
46 views
Correlation of El Nino and south indian monsoon
A recent article in New Scientist reports the following claim made by Wenju Cai at CSIRO Melbourne.
Southern India is having a lot of rain as it goes into winter, having
come out of the dry ...
4
votes
1answer
72 views
How effective is seeding rainclouds? What are the indications for initiating seeding?
I've heard that dry ice, iodides have been used as seeding agents to induce rainfall. Is this technique really being used widely? What are the prerequisites for initiating seeding? Is it as bounteous ...
5
votes
1answer
175 views
Why is Venezuela so dry?
I'm trying to understand why the summer (January) precipitations in Venezuela are so low in the central and southern parts of the country as well as in eastern Colombia. The most plausible explanation ...
8
votes
2answers
846 views
How accurate is a tipping-bucket rain gauge?
My question is simple - how accurate is a tipping-bucket rain gauge?
I have read about what causes the errors (wind, bucket mechanics for extreme events, ...) and I know the accuracy is strictly ...
8
votes
2answers
178 views
How can there be a hot summer with rain and no thunderstorms and lightning?
This summer in the south of France we have had two hot months with 29 days over 30'C, while the average maximum is 26'C in July.
Normally there are violent storms with lightening up to 20 times a ...
4
votes
1answer
63 views
Could a waterfall lashing onto a road lead to a landslide?
Here is a video of a waterfall lashing on to a mountain road, with vehicles driving under it.
https://youtu.be/cHaguj--YBc
There appears to be a big hole carved out right next to the road, possibly ...
10
votes
1answer
504 views
How does evapotranspiration affect rainfall?
Evapotranspiration is when a plant evaporates water off the surface of its leaves in order to move water throughout its system with cohesive and adheisiveforces. My question is how will a sudden ...
21
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there an upper bound to the amount of rain that can fall in an hour?
The record for most rainfall in a single hour is 12 inches (30.5 cm), set in Holt, Missouri, in 1947. What is the maximum amount of rainfall that could theoretically occur in an hour?
6
votes
2answers
263 views
Algorithmically Determining the Rainy Season
I have historical precipitation data for hundreds of cities around the world. I would like to algorithmically determine when the rainy season (if exists) is for each location. Are there any algorithms ...
3
votes
2answers
93 views
Why do clouds have areas of darkness instead of scattering light to produce a rainbow?
I suspect it has to do with the difference in size of a rain drop and that of the water particles in the cloud.
26
votes
2answers
34k views
At what humidity does it start to rain?
As far as I understand it is perfectly valid for air to have 100% humidity. At that point, all water can still exist in form of vapor, non-condensed.
Does it immediately start to rain if humidity is >...
