Abstract

The spatial variability of precipitation, as measured with standard rain gauges spaced 800–4400 m apart, was studied at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada over a 34-year period. Spatial variability, relative to precipitation amount, was greater for small storms of less than 7.5 mm than for larger storms. The probability of the difference in measured precipitation for a storm exceeding a set amount increased approximately linearly with the separation distance between rain gauges although this trend weakened as the size of the difference increased. In several years, measured differences in cumulative precipitation during the growing season indicated important differences between rain gauge locations in growing conditions for spring-sown cereal crops. The probability of the measured difference in cumulative precipitation during the growing season exceeding a set amount increased approximately linearly with the separation distance between rain gauges. Where knowledge of precipitation amount is very important for small-plot biological field experiments, precipitation should be measured at or within a few hundred metres of the experiment site. However, where monthly areal estimates of warm-season precipitation are required, there was little reason for gauging densities of less than 2.6 km 2 per rain gauge.

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