Author Topic: . . . . It was a *terrible* storm . . . . . D'oh!  (Read 3374 times)

elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
. . . . It was a *terrible* storm . . . . . D'oh!
« on: February 05, 2016, 10:54:25 PM »
Dear WeatherCat station caregivers,

The following would appear to be a sudden, if brief, downpour:



There is just one small problem with this sequence of events, this all occurred when the skies where mostly clear.  So what's going on here?

The first rain gauge bucket tip actually followed one about noon.  I've noticed for whatever reason there are occasional "phantom" bucket tips.  I think what is happening is that the bucket get very close to tipping with drizzle or whatever and the heat of the sun causes something to expand shifting the balance.  However, 5:15pm something was seriously amiss here.

So I went out to the rain gauge and found the collector cone with a significant puddle of water.  Some small bits of plant debris had plugged the hole so that what little rain we had gotten Tuesday and Wednesday hadn't been able to tip the buckets.

Well, what should a station caregiver do under such conditions?  The accumulated water was the rain from the previous event.  It sure would have been good to count what had fallen.  So I took a small wire and tried to push through the obstruction.

Surprise!  The resulting "rainfall rate" was - shall we say - noticeable!

Fortunately, no data reporting service apparently noticed the anomaly and now I have as accurate a rainfall total as I'm going to get for February.  The grand total: 0.14".  According to my synthetic channel, we are already over 1/2" behind the normal rainfall for February and counting.  :(

Still there is a lesson for everyone using WeatherCat.  It is amazingly easy for your rain gauge to get plugged.  It is best to check it frequently and better still to locate your rain gauge where it is easy to work on.

Edouard

Blicj11

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 3941
    • EW3808
    • KUTHEBER6
    • Timber Lakes Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus | WeatherLinkIP Data Logger | iMac (2019), 3.6 GHz Intel Core i9, 40 GB RAM, macOS Ventura 13.6 | Sharx SCNC2900 Webcam | WeatherCat 3.3 | Supportive Wife
Re: . . . . It was a *terrible* storm . . . . . D'oh!
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2016, 11:57:53 PM »
Interesting post Edouard. I guess it all depends on where one lives. In 8 years, I have never had to clean anything from my rain collector cup. I still apply a coat of Rain-X every fall, but I have yet to discover anything in the cup that shouldn't be there.
Blick


Felix

  • Gale
  • ****
  • Posts: 439
  • Station Details: Davis VP-2 Plus, FARS, WeatherLink IP. Sharx cams.
Re: . . . . It was a *terrible* storm . . . . . D'oh!
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2016, 10:10:29 AM »
I'm about the same, Blick. The collector stays largely clear of debris although I do have to clean the tipping buckets with wet pipe cleaners a couple times per year. It looks like dust gets in them and over time the bottoms of the buckets get coated with a dried mud-like substance which I suspect could affect accuracy.

I don't use Rain-X but I do use Snow-Jet on the collector cone. Snow-Jet is a non-stick polymer I use on my snowblower's auger housing and discharge chute to prevent wet snow build ups from slowing down the machine. Safe for metal and plastic. Couple sprays per year.

I buy the gallon size which claims to be "commercial" strength.

http://www.mo-deck.com/SNOW-JET-s/1820.htm

elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
Lucky you and Snow-Jet? (Re: D'oh!)
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2016, 10:13:18 PM »
Dear Blick, Felix, and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Interesting post Edouard. I guess it all depends on where one lives. In 8 years, I have never had to clean anything from my rain collector cup. I still apply a coat of Rain-X every fall, but I have yet to discover anything in the cup that shouldn't be there.

I suppose you are correct, but it does seem surprising to me that you've never observed any debris at all.  I would have expected that plant do break apart all over the world.  My rain gauge is on the second floor balcony and away from anything that would tempt birds.  Even so, the wind does occasionally blow something in perhaps off of the roof.

I don't use Rain-X but I do use Snow-Jet on the collector cone. Snow-Jet is a non-stick polymer I use on my snowblower's auger housing and discharge chute to prevent wet snow build ups from slowing down the machine. Safe for metal and plastic. Couple sprays per year.

Hmm, I'm puzzled why you would do this at least in the summer.  The purpose of Rain-X is to reduce the surface tension of water so that water flows more freely to the bottom of the collector cone.  So at least in theory you'll get a more accurate measure by not losing that small amount of extra water that remains on the cone.  Does Snow-Jet behave in the same way?

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Felix

  • Gale
  • ****
  • Posts: 439
  • Station Details: Davis VP-2 Plus, FARS, WeatherLink IP. Sharx cams.
Re: Lucky you and Snow-Jet? (Re: D'oh!)
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2016, 10:36:44 AM »
Does Snow-Jet behave in the same way?

Yep, makes the rain collector cone really slick, just like the snowblower chute.

wurzelmac

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 1361
    • ITIROLPR2
    • Wetterstation Pr?graten am Gro?venediger
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage PRO2 Plus (24h fan aspirated, wireless) with UV/Solar | Weather Envoy Data Logger | Mac mini 2023 M2 8/256 | 1x Canon EOS 1300D | macOS Sonoma 14.2
Re: . . . . It was a *terrible* storm . . . . . D'oh!
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2016, 05:08:22 PM »
 [rainyluck]
Reinhard


elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
Photographic proof! (Re: . . . . It was a *terrible* storm)
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2016, 12:24:43 AM »
Dear Blick, Felix, Reinhard, and WeatherCat doubting Thomas,

My rain gauge has been covered until yesterday morning when a few drop fell about the time I got up.  The rain wasn't expected until evening but I don't want to miss a drop so I moved the cover.

During the day there was no rain, but it was extremely windy.  As evening approached I decided I should check the rain gauge one more time just to be sure.  Here is where my rain gauge is installed - attached to the rail of a second-story deck:



So it is plenty high and should avoid most plant debris.  However, when I checked the collector cone what did I find?



I believe these are the buds of trees that are just starting to bloom.  There wasn't a lot, but this is precisely what I encountered when I found my collector cone plugged two weeks ago.

So it may not be common, but at least during some times of the year, rain gauges that normally don't get debris still might get plugged if the weather conditions blow that debris high enough.

Cheers, Edouard