Author Topic: Adjust WX station data to agree with  (Read 1540 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline zackdog

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 410
    • Winter Park Highlands Web cams
Adjust WX station data to agree with
« on: January 08, 2016, 10:41:19 AM »
This is my first winter as a CoCoRAHS member and am wondering if every one adjusts their WX station data to agree with the CCRHS readings.  I decided to run my rain collector heater 24/7 beginning January 1.  I already have second thoughts on this decision and am considering covering the rain collector and entering amounts from manual CCRHS gauge.  Does anyone else do this in the winter?  My winters basically last from Nov-May, and I am pretty certain my rain records prior to getting the CCRHS gauge are pretty much worthless.

So far, eight readings in January have given the following:  CCHRS  .23 inches  VP2 w/heater .11 inches

Curious as to how other people who live in the great white north handle this.

Mark
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." - Dylan

Vantage Pro2 Plus w/ 24 hr FARS and (2) VantageVues

VP2 uploading via Vue console to CWOP, WU, PWS, and Weathercloud.


Offline PaulMy

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 5509
    • KomokaWeather
Re: Adjust WX station data to agree with
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2016, 03:17:53 PM »
Hi Mark,
I don't have a heater, nor do I cover the gauge so this January I had the first 4 days with snow/precipitation in my CoCoRaHS but nothing recorded on my Davis as it got pretty cold.  Then no precipitation or snow the next 4 days in CoCoRaHS but Davis has recorded rain in 3 of those days, and my sunrecorder shows between 7 and 8 hours of sunshine on those 3 days #-o

Over the long haul the Davis, with recording the melting snow, comes more reasonable to the CoCoRaHS amount but showing on the wrong dates.  I like your thought about entering the CoCoRaHS amount in the station.  Now to figure out how to do that easily in Cumulus, in MySQL and in Weatherling data files ](*,)

Paul

Offline miraculon

  • Sunrise Side Weather
  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 4107
  • KE8DAF
    • Sunrise Side Weather in Rogers City MI USA
Re: Adjust WX station data to agree with
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2016, 08:44:35 AM »
There is some anecdotal evidence that snow evaporates on the cone and doesn't make it down to the tipping buckets in some circumstances. I have seen this happen personally several times with light snow. It shows zero, when there has been measurable snow. I am not surprised that it is lower on the heated VP2, I see the same thing on mine.

As far as 24/7 heater operation, I have a temperature controller that activates the transformer at 2°C. That way the heater isn't running all the time, especially when it is not necessary.

I make no "corrections", but report the VP2 amount in the comments section in the CoCoRaHS data submission page.

Greg H.


Blitzortung Stations #706 and #1682
CoCoRaHS: MI-PI-1
CWOP: CW4114 and KE8DAF-13
WU: KMIROGER7
Amateur Radio Callsign: KE8DAF

Offline zackdog

  • Forecaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 410
    • Winter Park Highlands Web cams
Re: Adjust WX station data to agree with
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2016, 10:18:21 AM »
After last night, I am going back to only turning the heater on after the snow event.  This is what I have done since 2003, so I now have the CCRHS gauge to compare with this method for accuracy. 

Last night I had .7" of snow and .025" SWE in the CCRHS gauge and zero registered in the heated rain collector  ](*,)

I have decided to only adjust my Weatherlink records to agree with CCRHS and leave the Cumulous records as is. This way I will be able to see the difference.

Mark
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." - Dylan

Vantage Pro2 Plus w/ 24 hr FARS and (2) VantageVues

VP2 uploading via Vue console to CWOP, WU, PWS, and Weathercloud.