High winds affecting rain gauge.

[dionaea]

During the last couple of days & particularly yesterday 11/01/'09 we had high winds but no rain. My Rain gauge indicated over 8mm of rain. I can only assume that the wind affected the tipping mechanism, clocking up "rainfall". Has anyone else had this problem & if so, does anyone have any ideas as to how to overcome it without compromising real rainfall. I have done a manual adjustment for yesterday but this will be more difficult on days like today when it is very windy & also raining. My Weather station is a WH 1080.

Cheers,

Chris

[beteljuice]

Strictly speaking the rain guage should be fixed to a solid, level, flat surface in an open area (clear of being 'shadowed', and away from any drips / falling leaves), and should be 50cm + off the ground to avoid any mud splatter.

On a mast it waves about causing the 'see-saw' mechanism to operate, plus - sooner or later, you will have to take it apart and unblock the funnel and clean the 'spoons' !

BTW, the thermometer unit should be about 160cm above grass

[dionaea]

It is firmly fixed & not on a pole.

Cheers,
Chris

[Sadgit]

Can wind get under the rain gauge? I had this problem but not since I have screwed it to my garage roof, even during the winds at the weekend..

[goldrush]

This is a common problem with all tipping rain gauges, possibly more so with the Fine Offeset version. I had the same problem with both my LaCrosse and Fine Offset, when they were rigidly fixed towards the top of a 10foot 1.5in ali pole. The vibrations of the pole were enough. Cured by simply lowering the rain gauge down the pole to around 3feet off ground, but as betlejuice says, best to be rigidly mounted on a flat level surface where the wind cannot enter from below.

[dionaea]

Thanks for that. I think I will try to largely seal off the base allowing only a small exit for the water.

Many thanks,

Chris

[harrym1byt]

Thanks for that. I think I will try to largely seal off the base allowing only a small exit for the water.

Doing that is not advisable. A small exit for the water could become blocked, then your gauge fills up with water.

[philcdav]

Hi guys. i seem to have fixed a couple of issues like spiders/wind effecting the rain gauge by fixing a small scrap of cloth mesh over the underside hole. its muslin, as used in card crafting and cost < 1 penny !! plus a dab of blue-tack haha.

regards - phil

[Jonsey]

I had this problem with the wind giving me a false rain reading, so in the end I just removed the rain sensor from the pole and screwed it onto the end of my shed, up near the apex of the roof on the facia board. Seems to have done the trick.

Dave

[dionaea]

Hi all,
Many thanks for the suggestions - as the gauge is fixed firmly to a brick wall (at the top) & not attached to a pole I have to conclude that turbulence is the main factor causing the rocker to move. I have therefore attached part of a polythene bag round the base of the unit & nicked several tiny holes into it for drainage. We had fairly high winds since the attachment (4.00 pm Saturday) & some fairly high gusts & the rain gauge has not tripped. I intend to try to produce a more permanent fixture in the future but will monitor it for a while. Thanks to all who took time to offer advice.

Many thanks,
Chris