Wichita Precipitation Distribution

How Does Wichita Receive Its Precipitation?

How has Wichita recieved the majority of its precipitation since records began in the late 1800s? Is it through relatively minor events less than one-quarter inch per day? Or through big downpours accumulating greater than two to three inches per day? The graph below will attempt to illustrate this question and answer (click the graph to enlarge).

Wichita precipitation-day distribution and precipitation accumulation distribution from 1889-2013. This graph illutrates that even though relatively light daily precipitation amounts of less than one-quarter inch constitute over 61% of Wichita's precipitation-days (dark blue and red pie sections upper left graph), they only constitute about 13% of Wichita's total precipitation accumulation (same pie sections lower right graph). In contrast, relatively heavy daily precipitation amounts of one inch or more constitute only about 10% of all Wichita precipitation-days (light blue, orange, gray pie sections upper left graph), but constitute over 45% of Wichita's total precipitation accumulation. Click the graph to enlarge.