Analysis of Rainfall in Tampa During the 2016 Calendar Year

by Amy Polen

Submitted : Spring 2017

Rainfall for a region is very important to define, because it affects an ecosystems health, wildlife, and even human behaviors. Using data obtained from National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the Tampa Bay International Airport and graphing it, total rainfall for a year was found using a trapezoidal Riemann’s sum and a definite integral. Through mathematics, it was determined that both gave an underestimate of the total rainfall that was measured, but the bound integral gave a reasonable estimate with a small percent error. It was seen through the graphical representations of this data and the overall recorded total rainfall that it indeed did match the humid subtropical climate type of Tampa, with a spike in rainfall in the summer and precipitation amounts that matched the Köppen climate classification system for this climate type. This is useful in guiding future measurements of rain using a trendline to predict rainfall over a given period of time. 

[ Back ]