Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #80107
Title: A COMPARISON OF PRECIPITATION CATCH BETWEEN NINE MEASURING SYSTEMS

Author
item Hanson, Clayton
item JOHNSON, GREGORY - USDA-ARS-NWRC
item Rango, Albert

Submitted to: Journal Hydrologic Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Because of the need for precipitation sets that can be used for hydrological studies that are international in scope, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established a study to determine snowfall catch relationships between precipitation gages that are used by several countries. One of the test sites was established by the U.S. Department of Agricultural-Agricultural Research Service on the Reynold Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho in the fall of 1987 and operated through the spring of 1994 to compare precipitation catch between nine measuring systems. Precipitation gages from the United States, Soviet Union and Canada were located at this site. The Wyoming shielded gage and the dual-gage system from the United States, double-fence lded gage from the Soviet Union and Nigher gage from Canada measured comparable amounts of snowfall. An unshielded gage mounted with its orifice at 3.05m above ground had the least catch. The information from the Idaho site is now being used along with information from other sites in an attempt to develop uniform precipitation data sets that can be used for international studies.

Technical Abstract: Because of the need for precipitation data sets that can be used for hydrological studies that are international in scope, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) established a study to determine snowfall catch relationships between precipitation gages that are used by several countries. One of the test sites was established by the U.S. Department of Agricultural-Agricultural Research Service on the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho in the fall of 1987 and operated through the spring of 1994 to compare precipitation catch between nine measuring systems. Precipitation gages form the United States, Soviet Union and Canada were located at this site. The Wyoming shielded gage and the dual-gage system from the United States, double-fence lded gage from the Soviet Union and Nipher gage from Canada measured comparable amounts of snowfall. An unshielded gage mounted with its orifice at 3.05 m above ground had the least catch. The information from the Idaho site is now being used along with information from other sites in an attempt to develop uniform precipitation data sets that can be used for international studies.