VE6AB Technical
Make it Rain
With the recent rains that came to Southern Alberta, my backyard rain gauge got a real work out as you can see.
This rain gauge is extremely accurate and after two days of rain, the rain gauge received 75 mm of rain or 3". That compares nicely to the amounts received at the Calgary airport.
In case you were wondering how this rain gauge works, the center column records the first 25 mm of rain received, and then spills over into the outer cylinder. Once you wish to check on the amounts recorded, you dump out the center column, and then refill it from the outer housing until you have recorded all the rain that fell using the inner column as the measure.
This rain gauge is as close to a professional rain gauge as you can buy. Be careful of the rain gauges that you can purchase off of Amazon and other places, as they are not very accurate. By removing the inner column and upper funnel, this rain gauge measures snow fall in the winter.
Also, be careful where you mount your rain gauge, as nearby obstructions like trees will have an effect on the accuracy of the rain gauge when the wind is blowing.
