Abstract:
Survival of every species in a place is controlled by weather factors. Rainfall is the important
weather parameter that influences all sectors of the economy of the study area viz the Northern
Province of Sri Lanka. Rainfall pattern of the study area varies from other regions of Sri Lanka. In
this respectthisstudyfocusesonthetrendanddistributionoftherainfallinthestudyarea.Themain
objective of this paper is to discuss the spatial and temporal pattern of the rainfall in the northern
province of Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected using direct observation, which helped to
identify thespatialvariationsoftherainfallofthestudyarea.Secondarydatawerecollectedmainly
from two sources i.e Department of Meteorology and the Statistical Handbook of the Northern
Provincial Council. Data related to rainfall from department of meteorology were collected for
forty-four years from 1972 for the analysis. Data have been analyzed using excel worksheet and
they were mapped using the ARC GIS software 9.1 version to identify the temporal and spatial
patternoftherainfallinthestudyarea.Annualaveragerainfallofthestudyareavariesfromyearto
year. SeasonallySecondInterMonsoonSeasonandtheNorthEastMonsoonSeasonreceive85%of
rainfall and South West Monsoon Season receives 17% of rainfall. The Months, November,
December and January receive 90% of the total rainfall. Spatially eastern part of the study area
receives the highest amount of rainfall and the western area receives the lowest amount of rainfall.
Number of rainy days decrease year by year and the depression in the Bay of Bengal is the main
reasonforthe92%ofthetotalrainfallofthestudyarea.
