Analysis of Colorado precipitation
Date
1975
Authors
Kuo, Marie Siew Man, author
Cox, Stephen K., author
Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, publisher
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Abstract
The objectives of the research proposal 'Anlaysis of Colorado Precipitation' fall into two categories. Firstly, 56 years of precipitation history were used to determine if there are any significant trends in regional and statewide precipitation in Colorado. This portion of the research is complementary to the work of Sellers (1960) who used the 90 year running mean of annual precipitation for 18 stations of Arizona and western New Mexico. Secondly, 20 years of Colorado hourly precipitation data were used to represent precipitation events, called 'storms'. and the data were examined to find storm frequency, length and yield. The storms were divided into size categories and were used to determine the contribution of each size of precipitation event to the annual total. Data from the western part of the state has been studied extensively because it is part of the upper Colorado River Basin which supplies water to the arid southwestern United States. Marlatt and Riehl (1963) found that most of the precipitation is produced in a few days and the amount of precipitation is correlated with the fraction of area receiving precipitation. In a comparison paper by Riehl and Elsberry (1964), consecutive days with precipitation were grouped together to form storms. The precipitation derived from medium size storms of 0.3 to 1.2 inches were found to be most closely related to the annual precipitation in the basin, and the size of storms roughly corresponds to the duration of the episode.
Description
June 1975.
Rights Access
Subject
Precipitation (Meteorology) -- Colorado
Precipitation (Meteorology) -- Colorado -- Observations