Rainfall spatial organization and areal reduction factors in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain)

What is it about?

The rainfall spatial organization in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Spain) was studied from records of an urban rain gauge network: the effective number of independent stations equivalent to the used network has been determined, as well as the characteristic areal reduction factors in the metropolitan area of Barcelona.

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Photo by Jessica Knowlden on Unsplash

Photo by Jessica Knowlden on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall intensity is highly variable even on a small scale, particularly in intense rain events. The knowledge of the main features of these distributions is of great importance from the standpoint of the weather and in many applications, as in urban hydrology where, for instance, the spatial attenuation of the maximum rainfall intensities with distance is required to determine the proper sizing of sewer networks in cities. One of the results found by this study was that the areal rainfall return period observed for a storm registered by the urban rainfall network of Barcelona approximately decreases by a factor of the inverse of the effective number of independent stations equivalent to the network. A direct relationship between the areal reduction factor for all the area corresponding to the network and this effective number was found also.