The total mass of water in a vertical atmospheric column of unit area, or its height if condensed in liquid form.
The total atmospheric water vapor contained in a vertical column of unit cross sectional area that would stand if completely condensed and collected in a vessel.
The depth, or amount, of water that would result if all of the water vapor in the atmosphere above a certain location were condensed into liquid water. NWS graphics show precipitable water in terms of inches and percentage of normal (for the given day).
The amount of water in a vertical column of atmosphere. The unit of measure is typically the depth to which the water would fill the vertical column if it were condensed to a liquid. For example, 6 centimeters of precipitable water (in the absence of clouds) indicates a very moist atmosphere. Precipitable water is often used as a synonym for water vapor.
The depth of the layer of liquid water that would be formed if all the water vapor in a column of atmosphere were condensed onto Earth's surface. On average, the atmosphere contains about 2 centimeters of precipitable water.
This level 2 data collection contains derived precipitable column water vapor amounts. Two products are contained in this data collection: daytime near-IR column water vapor amount at 1-km spatial resolution; and 24-hour IR column water vapor amount. The file size is 8 MB and the transfer rate is 288 files per day.
Water, as precipitation, potentially available from atmospheric water vapor.
The total atmospheric water vapor contained in a vertical column extending between any two specified levels, generally from the ground to the top of the upper-air sounding, expressed in terms of the height to which the water would stand if completely condensed and collected in a vessel of equal cross section as the column. Two inches is a very moist, tropical atmosphere capable of producing copious amounts of rain. In central Texas 2-inch PWs are routinely seen only in association with inland tropical activity.
Amount of water, expressed as a depth or as a mass, which would be obtained if all the water vapor in a specified column of the atmosphere were condensed and precipitated.
The vertical integral of the water content in a column of the atmosphere, and is measured in millimetres. It is a measure of the amount of water that can be "wrung out" of the atmosphere. High values (above 40mm) indicate the potential for heavy rainfall. Precipitable water is shown as contours on the GFS Total-Totals chart
The amount of precipitation an air mass could produce if there was lift available to squeeze all the water out of it. High precipitable water means a moist air mass.
Amount of water potentially available in the atmosphere for precipitation. Usually measured in a vertical column that extends from the Earth's surface to the upper edge of the troposphere.
