Citation

Naghavi B, Yu FX. Transp. Res. Rec. 1993; 1420: 78-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A comparative study of five popular frequency distributions and three parameter estimation methods was conducted on the rainfall data from 92 stations in Louisiana. Computed results showed that the log-Pearson Type 3 (LPEAR3) distribution along with the method of moments was the best choice for the Louisiana rainfall data. Maximum annual 24-hr rainfall maps for return periods of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years were developed by using hourly precipitation data. These new isohyetal maps were compared with the U.S. Weather Bureau Technical Paper 40 maps based on the performance indexes of the standardized mean square error (MSE) and the standardized bias (BIAS). On the average, the new maps reduced the MSE by 58% and the BIAS by 80%. A first-order error analysis was performed on the parameters of the LPEAR3 distribution. Computed results showed that the predicted quantiles of the LPEAR3 distribution were most sensitive to the parameter of population mean and least sensitive to the coefficient of skewness.

Record URL:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1993/1420/1420-011.pdf

Language: en

Keywords

Maps; Rain; Drainage; Discharge (fluid mechanics); Parameter estimation; Precipitation (meteorology); Error analysis; Frequency domain analysis; Rain gages