Abstract |
In a sensitivity analysis of a previously developed digital model for the stochastic simulation of thunderstorm rainfall, patterns of rainfall were generated for each of several combinations of some key parameters of the model. Statistics based on the depth, duration, and intensity of the rainfall were computed from a set of generated storms and compared with similar statistics computed from another set of storms generated after one of the model parameters had been changed by a predetermined amount. The parameters studied included (1) the parameter which establishes the spatial distribution of rainfall intensity within the thunderstorm cell, (2) the cell duration, and (3) the maximum size attained by the cell. The model is capable of reproducing the rainfall characteristics as measured in the field; however, it is recommended that the same parameter values not be used, unless they can be varified with local data, to generate thunderstorm rainfall for localities where rainfall characteristics are likely to differ significantly from those in the Georgia Coastal Plains. (Modified author abstract) |