observing climate - surface
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Observing Climate - Surface. Science Concepts Definition. Water (Con’t) Precipitation Rain Gage Hail Pad Snow Board. Observing Climate - Precipitation. How would you measure precipitation? What units does the TV weather person report precipitation?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Observing Climate - Surface
Water (Con’t)
PrecipitationRain GageHail PadSnow Board
Science Concepts
Definition
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Observing Climate - Precipitation
How would you measure precipitation?
What units does the TV weather person report precipitation?
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Observing Climate - Precipitation
Measurement
• Non-recording Rain Gage
- Belfort Non-Recording Precipitation Gage - Model 5-400 - Meets National Weather Service specifications
Five parts comprise the complete instrument - the receiver, the overflow can, the measuring tube, the measuring stick, and the support. Precipitation caught in the receiver is funneled into the measuring tube.
• Non-recording Cylinder Rain Gage
- Rain first fills the inner cylinder, graduated in hundredths to 1", then overflows into the outer cylinder.
http://www.belfortinstrument.com/products/precipitation/m5-400.html
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?ID=5477
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Measurement (Con’t)
• Recording Rain Gages
- RainWise RAINEW WIRELESS rain gauge - 8" diameter collector; precipitation fills a bi-stable tipping bucket mechanism, causing the mechanism to tip; each tip of the bucket measures 0.01 of an inch
- Belfort Weighing Rain Gage - Series 5-780/5915 - Gage converts the weight of collected precipitation into the equivalent depth of accumulated water in conventionalunits of inches or millimeters. An 8-inchdiameter, knife-edge orifice collects all forms of precipitation. Rain travels through a funnel into the galvanized weighing bucket.
Observing Climate - Precipitation
http://www.belfortinstrument.com/products/precipitation/m6071.html
Tipping Bucket
CountingContacts
http://www.rainwise.com/rain/index.html
RecordingMechanismScale
Climate and Global Change Notes
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Observing Climate - Precipitation
Hail
• Hailstones travel up to 80 mph or 128 km/h
• Hailstones make dents or craters that can cause serious damage to property and pose potential danger to animals and humans
Measurement
• Hailpad
> 1-in thick Styrofoam pad covered with heavy duty aluminum foil tomeasure the number and size of hailstones
> Count the size and number of dents and relate dent size to actualhailstone size
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
http://epod.usra.edu/archive/epodviewer.php3?oid=257376
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Climate and Global Change Notes
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How do we measure snow?
• Snowboard - a lightly colored board, a 2 ft by 2 ft plywood painted white works
- Locate away from trees, buildings, and shadows
- Avoid areas that are known to be prone to drifting; mark location of snowboard with a stake so you can find it after a fresh snowfall
• Measure to the nearest tenth inch
• Should not be measured more than four times in 24 h
- Clean off board when you take each of four daily measurements > Can measure hourly to get rate, but don’t clean off board each hour
- When snow ends, add up the measurements from each time the
snowboard was cleaned to reach a storm total
Observing Climate - Precipitation
How do we measure snow?
Snow Measurement Guidelines for National Weather Service Snow Spotters
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/program_areas/snow_spotters/SnowMeasurement.pdf