Parameter Estimation for a Model of Space‐Time Rainfall

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Abstract
In this paper, parameter estimation procedures, based on data from a network of rainfall gages, are developed for a class of space‐time rainfall models. The models, which are designed to represent the spatial distribution of daily rainfall, have three components, one that governs the temporal occurrence of storms, a second that distributes rain cells spatially for a given storm, and a third that determines the rainfall pattern within a rain cell. Maximum likelihood and method of moments procedures are developed. We illustrate that limitations on model structure are imposed by restricting data sources to rain gage networks. The estimation procedures are applied to a 240‐mi2 (621 km2) catchment in the Potomac River basin.