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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Boise, Idaho » Northwest Watershed Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #71212
Title: GAGE CATCH AT THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (WMO) REYNOLDS CREEK, IDAHO SITE

Author
item Hanson, Clayton

Submitted to: Climate and Weather Research Workshop Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/17/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Becuase of the need for precipitation data sets that can be used for hydrological studies that are international in scope, the World Meteorolog- ical Organization (WMO) established a study to determine snowfall catch relationships between precipitation gages were used by several different countries. One of the test sites was established by the U.S. Department of fAgriculture-Agricultural Research Service on the Reynolds Creek Experiment al 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 Untion and Canada were located at this site. They Wyoming shielded gage and teh dual- gage system from the United States, double-fence shielded gage from the Soviet Untion and Nipher shielded gage from Canada measured comparable amounts of snowfall. An unshielded gage mounted with its orifice at 3.05m had the least catch. The information from the Idaho site is now being use along with information from other sites in an attempt to develop uniform precipitation data sets that can be used for international studies.

Technical Abstract: A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) site was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-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 precipitation measuring systems. The WMO study was established to compare current national methods of measuring solid precipitation, i.e. snow, so the primary emphasis was the measurement of snow at this site. When total catch for the seven seasons was considered, five of the systems measured snowfall and total catch, (including snow, mixed rain and snow, and rain events) within 4% of the Wyoming shielded gage which had the greatest total catch. Measuring systems used were the Wyoming shielded gage, the Alter shielded gage and the dual-gage system from the United States, the double-fence shielded gage from the Soviet Untion and the Nipher shielded gage from Canada. The universal gage without a shield tha was mounted with its orifice at 3.05m had the least catch in all precipitation categories.