53:119 Hydrology
Problem #7
Missing Precipitation for Iowa City (NCDC web site)

Use monthly precipitation data for the stations listed below to estimate the "missing" precipitation for the Iowa City station for June 2008.

Station ID	Station Name
131314	Cedar Rapids Airport
138266	Tipton 4 NE
138688	Washington
134101	Iowa City

1. Obtain basic data for the four stations from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) web site.  Record the station location (latitude/longitude), total precipitation (in inches) for June 2008, and the departure from normal (in inches).  To do this:
   • Go to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) web site. 
   • Select the Climate Data Online (NEW) from the Data & Products list.  
   • Choose the Data Search tab.
   • Enter the Station ID for the first site, select Annual Summary, and press the Search button
   • Verify that it found the right site, and press the Add button
   • Continue by entering the station ID for the next site in the box and press Search, add the site when it is found, then continue until all four sites have been added 
   • Press Continue in the Requested Annual Summary Inventor box, and follow the instructions on the form to obtain data for 2008 in the format of your choosing.
2. Determine the 30-year "normal" precipitation (in inches) for June the four stations.  Note that the departure from normal (for June 2008) is equal to the total precipitation (for June 2008) minus the normal precipitation (unknown).
3. Assume that the measurement at the Iowa City station is "missing".  Estimate June 2008 precipitation (in inches) for the missing station using the uniform weighting method.
4. Assume that the measurement at the Iowa City station is "missing".  Estimate June 2008 precipitation (in inches) for the missing station using inverse distance squared weighting.  You can compute the distance between the stations using the Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculator .
5. Assume that the measurement at the Iowa City station is "missing".  Estimate June 2008 precipitation (in inches) for the missing station using the Normal Ratio method.