CoCoRaHS Rain Gauge

[scott71]

Well I received my CoCoRaHS Rain Gauge the other day and just got it set up this morning before the rains came. I must say it's was a bit of a surprise how big this is. It looks like it's well built also. Well I should have grabbed a few pics of it but I'm sure everyone knows what it looks like on a nice wooden post. Now I'm just waiting for the rains to come in later tonight.

I do have a question. You do your report around 7 am each day so this is basically a 24hr reporting period. But what about how much rain you have for the day? 12 midnight to 12 midnight. Or just use the 7 am reference as your start & stop time for the day. That's is what I'm confused on. Probably taking something simple and making more out of it than I should. LOL

[SlowModem]

I do have a question. You do your report around 7 am each day so this is basically a 24hr reporting period. But what about how much rain you have for the day? 12 midnight to 12 midnight. Or just use the 7 am reference as your start & stop time for the day. That's is what I'm confused on. Probably taking something simple and making more out of it than I should. LOL

From the CoCoRaHS FAQ:

Do I have to check my rain gauge at 7am? No, but we would prefer it if you did. If you check your gauge at other times, your data may not be directly comparable to other data. If you check your gauge at night, your data will be in our reports but won't show up on our maps. We only map data that is collected within two hours of 7am.

[scott71]

Thanks for the reply Greg , I did read that on the site. I guess it makes sense taking a reading early morning. Not everyone wants to go out a midnight and report.  I was just over reading into it. Well anyhow, I've got rain on the way and can't wait to see how the weather station , cheap glass rain gauge and the CoCoRaHS all do together. I've never been this excited to see it rain.

[SlowModem]

Thanks for the reply Greg , I did read that on the site. I guess it makes sense taking a reading early morning. Not everyone wants to go out a midnight and report.  I was just over reading into it. Well anyhow, I've got rain on the way and can't wait to see how the weather station , cheap glass rain gauge and the CoCoRaHS all do together. I've never been this excited to see it rain.

I hope you stick with it.  Getting out at 7:00 am (or thereabouts) gets old for some folks, routine for others.  But I think it's because 99% of the people won't read a gauge at midnight.

It was pouring down rain this morning when I went to read mine.  Since 5:50 am this morning, my weather station says we've received 3.12 inches.  I turned in 0.23 inches at 7:00, so since then we've received 2.87 in.  I use the tube gauge as a standard to judge my weather station gauge.

[W Thomas]

It was pouring down rain this morning when I went to read mine.  Since 5:50 am this morning, my weather station says we've received 3.12 inches.  I turned in 0.23 inches at 7:00, so since then we've received 2.87 in.  I use the tube gauge as a standard to judge my weather station gauge.

Dang! You're getting some rain down that way Greg!
We have so far accumulated .10 " here  but I came from west of here Wise county to be exact and it's raining cats, dogs, chickens and who know what else there!  Looks like the biggest portion is going to our north as I predicted but if we get a wrap around effect we might gather a few more tenths before the event is over.

[SlowModem]

Dang! You're getting some rain down that way Greg!
We have so far accumulated .10 " here  but I came from west of here Wise county to be exact and it's raining cats, dogs, chickens and who know what else there!  Looks like the biggest portion is going to our north as I predicted but if we get a wrap around effect we might gather a few more tenths before the event is over.

There's a Low that's been sitting over B'ham/Huntsville all day long acting like a pump bringing up moisture from the gulf.  I think it's starting to move now (finally).



It looks like there's severe weather around the GA/SC line.  With the cooler temperatures, hopefully it will dissipate quickly.

[scott71]

It rained like cats & dogs last night and sure did seem like a lot fell but checked the gauges this morning and found .86 in the CoCoRaHS and on my weather station it was .71. A lot of blowing later in the storm as the winds were coming from the south raising the temps into the 50's last night.

Now the rains have picked up again and still blowing strong as the low moves through my area. Question about the CoCoRaHS top/lid. Just wondering how well they old up in the winds? I know we always seem to get high winds here. Did anyone every go out and theirs has gone missing or do they stay pretty tight?

[SlowModem]

Did anyone every go out and theirs has gone missing or do they stay pretty tight?

I've never had one come off.  They stay pretty well.

During the winter, I don't use the funnel or the tube.  I bring the big tube inside and measure.  That way you don't have to worry about the little tube freezing.  The big tube seems to be heavy duty and able to withstand the cold temperatures.

[scott71]

Thanks Greg for the help. The rain gauge worked very well today. Received 1.22 inch of rain. My weather station WS1510 reported in at .95 for a total. So I'm pretty happy with the performance of both.

[Anthony]

Have never had mine blow of so far. Like Greg I have only the large outter tube out now. Brough in funnel and inner tube in when be got our first snow.

[W Thomas]

Did the same thing here.. I developed a leak in mine earlier anyway so I need not push the issue on freezing.

[ocala]

Thanks Greg for the help. The rain gauge worked very well today. Received 1.22 inch of rain. My weather station WS1510 reported in at .95 for a total. So I'm pretty happy with the performance of both.

Your weather station is off by pretty much. I don't think I would be happy with that.
Can you adjust the rain gauge on your station?

[wxtech]

Thanks Greg for the help. The rain gauge worked very well today. Received 1.22 inch of rain. My weather station WS1510 reported in at .95 for a total. So I'm pretty happy with the performance of both.

 
Scott,
Your rain gauge score is 78%.  That is typical for most tipping bucket rain gauges unless it has been meticulously tweaked.  Tipping bucket rain gauges typically under report during heavy rains.  It will probably be more accurate during light rains.  Compare the accuracy of light rain accuracy to heavy rain accuracy.  It is common to make rain accumulation adjustments in the database to agree with a manual rain gauge.
Other threads have discussed this topic extensively.

[Anthony]

My weather station is showing 2.32 for the month & the cocorahs is showing 2.95.

[scott71]

I appreciate the input folks!!!

I'm still new to all of this.  My weather station rain gauge is not adjustable to my knowledge. It might be true that in a steady rain that if performs better. Last time we had a nice rain but before the CoCoRaHS I have now, the WS gauge was pretty darn close to the TV station I watch. I'll have to keep my eye on the next steady rain to get another comparison. And I will be taking the tube out of the CoCoRaHS so not to have it frozen. Temps are going down over the week. With maybe snow for the weekend.

[port1]

  I'm always surprised how my relatively inexpensive tipping rain gauge is accurate compared to my CoCoRaHS gauge.
Almost always spot on, or a hundreth of an inch either way.
I wouldn't have expected that from an OS gauge, but I'm happy with it! 

 
Henry

[Scalphunter]

During the winter, I don't use the funnel or the tube.  I bring the big tube inside and measure.  That way you don't have to worry about the little tube freezing.  The big tube seems to be heavy duty and able to withstand the cold temperatures.

 I left an unit out at the cabin couple years ago and it took 50 below with no problem. Was suprise the next spring to see it was still in one piece. Like I said before they are one piece of skooum gear to go thru Alaskan winter like that.

John

[port1]

  Definitely skookum John!
Fifty below...that's just brutal, and it keeps on tickin'!
 


 
Henry