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Precipitation amount

Precipitation is measured in quantity for a certain time interval, e.g. millimeters per hour. The measurement is always valid for the period preceeding the given time.
For example, the 3 hour precipitation shown for 12:00 UTC shows the total quantity in mm (= l/m²) between 9:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC.

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Precipitation

Measurement of precipitation is the attempt to represent a large scale non-uniform process by sampling methods, large scale raster images or modelling.
meteoblue compares precipitation forecasts to measurements based on WMO standards, unless otherwise indicated.

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Units

Precipitation can be measured using 3 methods:
  1. Local weather stations: with pluviometer ("raingauges", "snowgauges").
  2. Tele-detection: using reflection of radar, the distribution of precipitation in the atmosphere is calculated.
  3. Local indirect observation: using bowls, surface cavities, surface runoff or flood gauges.

Measurement units are millimeter, centimeter or inches: 1 millimeter corresponds to 1 liter of water per square meter.
Snow precipitation is measured in centimeters or inches.
meteoblue uses metric units for presenting precipitation: Liquid precipitation is presented in mm for the displayed time period (day or hour). Solid precipitation (snow) is presented in mm of water equivalent (WE), or cm of height for a given time.

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