Precipitation
... primary "input" for the hydrologic cycle (or hydrologic budget).
… The patterns of the precipitation are affected by large scale global patterns, mesoscale patterns, "regional" patterns, and micro-climates.
… Knowing and understanding the general, regional, and local precipitation patterns greatly aids forecasters in determining QPF values.
… In addition to the quantity of precipitation, the spatial and temporal distributions of the precipitation have considerable effects on the hydrologic response.