Spatial variations in the average rainfall–altitude relationship in Great Britain: an approach using geographically weighted regression

The relationship between annual rainfall totals and gauge elevation over Great Britain is re‐examined using the recently developed technique of geographically weighted regression (GWR). This enables the spatial drift of regression parameters to be identified, estimated and mapped. It is shown that the rate of increase of precipitation with height, or height coefficient, varies from around 4.5 mm/m in the northwest to almost zero in the southeast. There is a particularly rapid change in this value across the English Midlands. The predicted sea level precipitation varies from 1250 mm to less than 600 mm in much the same way. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society