The Determination of Probability Distributions of Annual, Seasonal and Monthly Precipitation in Korea

The objective of this study was to determine the best probability distributions of annual, seasonal and monthly precipitation in Korea. Data observed at 32 stations in Korea were analyzed using the L-moment ratio diagram and the average weighted distance (AWD) to identify the best probability distributions of each precipitation. The probability distribution was best represented by 3-parameter Weibull distribution (W3) for the annual precipitation, 3-parameter lognormal distribution (LN3) for spring and autumn seasons, and generalized extreme value distribution (GEV) for summer and winter seasons. The best probability distribution models for monthly precipitation were LN3 for January, W3 for February and July, 2-parameter Weibull distribution (W2) for March, generalized Pareto distribution (GPA) for April, September, October and November, GEV for May and June, and log-Pearson type III (LP3) for August and December. However, from the goodness-of-fit test for the best probability distributions of the best fit, GPA for April, September, October and November, and LN3 for January showed considerably high reject rates due to computational errors in estimation of the probability distribution parameters and relatively higher AWD values. Meanwhile, analyses using data from 55 stations including additional 23 stations indicated insignificant differences to those using original data. Further studies using more long-term data are needed to identify more optimal probability distributions for each precipitation.