Controls on precipitation distributions in Sri Lanka

Summary The rainfall patterns and regions of the monsoonal island of Sri Lanka have been investigated. On the basis of quality-controlled monthly rainfall data from 110 gauges for the period 1931–60, three major homogeneous rainfall regions were derived based on a variety of rainfall parameters using cluster and discriminant analysis. For each of these regions, identified as the South-west Monsoon (SWM), the Northeast Monsoon (NEM) and the Inter-monsoon II (IMII) regions, multiple regression methods were used to determine the geographical factors influencing the spatial patterns of rainfall. For the NEM and IMII regions, the level of explanation as indicated by the coefficients of multiple determination were reasonable with values generally above 0.60. For the SWM region, the level of explanation was much lower at about 0.20. Examination of the residuals of the regression equations demonstrated the significance of local factors in influencing the patterns of rainfall distribution in Sri Lanka.With 6 Figures