Local rainfall variations over small, flat, cultivated areas

Abstract

An account is given of precipitation measurements on small, flat, cultivated areas carried out between 1957 and 1960 by means of very dense networks of precipitation stations. The precipitation distributions on single rainfalls were found to vary within large ranges. Clear distribution patterns appeared in the precipitation not only when the precipitation fell from convective clouds but also after frontal precipitation with almost no convection. The results from occasions with almost no convection indicated a close connection between the direction of the wind and the precipitation distribution. Within the investigation area the precipitation increased along the direction of the wind. When considering accumulated precipitation amounts the percentage variations were considerably lower than those which might occur on single rainfalls.