When does higher spatial resolution rainfall information improve streamflow simulation? An evaluation using 3620 flood events

Higher-resolution rainfall data significantly improves streamflow simulation accuracy in regions with spatially variable precipitation, such as southern France's Cévennes and Mediterranean areas. A study using 3620 flood events across 181 French catchments found that semidistributed hydrological models outperformed lumped models when rainfall variability was high. In contrast, both model types performed equally well in western France, where precipitation is more uniform. The research utilized a 1 km, hourly resolution rainfall reanalysis and evaluated streamflow dynamics using split-sample tests, highlighting the importance of spatial rainfall representation for accurate hydrological modeling.

Lobligeois, F., Andréassian, V., Perrin, C., Tabary, P., & Loumagne, C. (2014). When does higher spatial resolution rainfall information improve streamflow simulation? An evaluation using 3620 flood events. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 18(2), 575–594. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-575-2014