Kttc Rain Totals (2024)

FAQs

What does 80% chance of rain mean? ›

The answer? An “80% chance of rain” means an 80% chance that rain will fall somewhere within the forecasted area. Rain refers to 0.01 inch or more of water falling from the sky.

1/100 (0.01) of an inch of rain – The first measurable amount of rainfall reported by The National Weather Service. This would not leave puddles on the ground and would slightly wet the surface. This might occur during a light shower for 2-5 minutes or even a drizzle for 2 hours.

Using a 40% probability of rain as an example, it does not mean (1) that 40% of the area will be covered by precipitation at given time in the given forecast area or (2) that you will be seeing precipitation 40% of the time in the given forecast area for the given forecast time period.

If the chance of rain is less than 50%, there's a greater likelihood of it staying dry than not. For example, a 20% chance of rain means there's an 80% chance of dry weather. On the other hand, an 80% chance of rain means there's only a 20% chance of dry weather.

Closer look at percentages

Let's use 60% as the rain chance in the forecast. That means 60% of the entire area (Central Florida) could see measurable rain at some point in the day, while the other 40% won't. That goes beyond the city that you live in.

Rainfall rate is generally described as light, moderate or heavy. Light rainfall is considered less than 0.10 inches of rain per hour. Moderate rainfall measures 0.10 to 0.30 inches of rain per hour. Heavy rainfall is more than 0.30 inches of rain per hour.

Light rain gives up to 2–4 mm (0.07–0.15 in) of precipitation; Moderate rain gives 5–6 mm (0.19–0.23 in); Rain or strong rain gives up about 15–20 mm (0.59–0.78 in); Rainfall gives more than 30 mm (1.18 in).

Moderate rain is a step up from light rain and is typically between 0.3 to 0.6 inches of rain per hour.

That may not be the case. 100% of the area may get rain, but maybe it will only last a few hours, if it's a fast-moving front. A viewer who sees a 20% chance of rain may assume there will only be a few light showers, which may also not be the case. 100% chance could be light rain.

If there are 100 days in which the forecast for rain is 10%, then it should rain on 10 of those days and not rain on the other 90. So if you hear a forecast of 10% chance of rain, and it rains, it doesn't mean that the forecast is wrong, it just happens to be one of those rainy days.

What does it mean when the weather says there's a 20% chance of rain? ›

A forecast of a 20 percent chance of rain means the forecaster believes there is a one in five chance (20 percent) that measurable rain will occur in the time period covered by the forecast.

Confidence multiplied by the percentage of the area forecasted equals the "percentage of precipitation." So if there's a 100% confidence that 30% of the area will see rain, then it's a 30% chance [(1 x 0.3)100 = PoPs].

The PoP is determined by multiplying two factors - the meteorologist's certainty ("C") that rain will fall in the area and how widespread precipitation is expected to be ("A"). Meteorologists calculate the Probability of Precipitation by resorting to a very simple equation: PoP = C x A.

The National Weather Service defines the probability of precipitation, as simply a statistical probability of 0.01" inch of more of precipitation in the given forecast area in a specified time period.

It means that there's only a twenty percent chance of rainfall in the entire area wherever it's indicated. For example if it says that there's a 100% chance of rain, that means that it is raining outside. This has nothing to do with a percentage of area, but of the entire area that's indicated.

A chance of rain refers to a probability between 30% and 50%. A likely chance of rain would be between 60% and 70%. And with any probability of precipitation higher than 75%, the forecaster has the option of describing it as “periods of rain,” “occasional rain” or simply “rain,” Blier said.

An 80 percent chance of rain means the weather forecaster believes there will be an eight in ten chance (or 80 chances out of 100) of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch or more) in the area under consideration during the time interval that is specified in the weather forecast.

The word 'Cent' comes from the Latin 'Centum', meaning "Hundred." So, 80% means 80 out of 100. It represents a typical ratio/proportion case; 80% means four-fifths. For example, 80% of 400 will be (80/100) * 400 or (4/5) of 400, which is 320. Hope, this helps.