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Modelling the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall intensity at local scale

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Summary

Accurate estimates of rainfall intensity distribution with high temporal and spatial resolution are necessary in most urban hydrological studies, such as planning, simulation or control of sewer networks. Traditionally, these data are obtained from intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves at sites with long rainfall intensity time-series, however, little attention is given to the spatial features of precipitation. In this paper, a mathematical model of a local scale storm that takes account of the spatial variability of rainfall and rain-cell movement is proposed. The model has been calibrated with a dense network of raingauges and a long rainfall intensity timeseries (60 years) and its parameters have been calculated for convective storms of return periods up to 15 years with their most frequently-observed rain-cell velocities (1 to 4 m/s).

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This work has been supported by the DGICYT, Project NAT91-0596.

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Redaño, A., Lorente, J. Modelling the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall intensity at local scale. Theor Appl Climatol 47, 25–32 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00868893

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00868893

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