precipitation records are invaluable in hydrologic studies involving
trends. Before precipitation records are used in such studies, they
should be tested by the double-mass curve technique to ensure that any
trends detected are due to meteorological causes and not to changes
in gage location, in exposure, or in observational methods. If the
changes detected are not due to meteorological causes, a precipitation
record can usually be adjusted by coefficients determined from the
double-mass curve.
Factors such as location and exposure affect the consistency with
which a rain gage samples the rainfall in a particular area. The consistency
is often affected when a gage is moved to the yard of a new
observer. Even at the same location, the exposure of a precipitation
gage can gradually change through the years, because of the
growth of trees and other vegetation in the neighborhood or because
of new buildings. Such changes sometimes go unnoted in the station
history.
Differences in exposure sometimes occur even at a first-order U.S.
Weather Bureau station. For example, moving a g£ge from one
part of a roof to another can affect the catch of the gage greatly, even
though the gage is moved only a few feet. Also, construction of tall
buildings in the vicinity of the gage changes wind direction and
affects thermal air currents, thus influencing the catch in the rain
gage. Furthermore, when new post offices or Federal buildings are
constructed, the rain gage often is moved from the roof of one building
to that of another.
The double-mass curve technique should seldom be used for testing
consistency of precipitation data in mountainous areas. The climate
within a mountainous area changes with the difference in elevation,
and the precipitation at two nearby stations differing greatly in
elevation may be due to different meteorological events. Records
from areas where the precipitation pattern for one season of the
year differs greatly from that of another should be tested by doublemass
curves prepared on a seasonal basis rather than a yearly basis.
In using the double-mass curve, some investigators prefer to start
with the most recent data and to cumulate and to plot the data for
previous years in reverse order to that shown in this report. Such
a cumulation is convenient when records with different starting dates
are to be tested for consistency, but it does not permit the addition
of new data to the table or the graph.