Rain, snow, sleet, hail…

It is only a slight exaggeration that Eskimos have over 100 words for snow (only ~50).  Scots also boast over 100 words for rain.  Conversely in some areas any precipitation is considered a God-send.

Water Resources

Precipitation is the ultimate source of almost all fresh water resources.  This is because the ultimate source of fresh water in the water cycle is evaporation from seawater.  Precipitation then feeds surface water which replenishes ground water.  The two main exceptions are desalination and sea ice.

Forecasting

As such forecasting of precipitation is of critical importance in water balance calculations.  Climate change is resulting in more extreme weather events.  This makes forecasting much harder.  Additionally, storm events and floods generally involve massive surface runoff which results in proportionately less water capture.

Long term stochastic water balance predictions are a critical part of contingency and resilience planning.  Please contact us if you need help in this area.