#5931 Postby sensoria » Wed Feb 02, 2011 4:58 pm
I just got this email...
Dear Travis County CoCoRaHS Observer:
It’s beginning to look more and more likely our region will see the development of snow Thursday night into Friday morning when a trough of low pressure tracks northeast out of Mexico. With a very cold arctic air mass in place, precipitation from this system is expected to be all snow and not rain. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Central Texas, including Travis County, from Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. National Weather Service forecasters indicate our area could see between 1 and 2 inches of snow during this period.
I wanted to give everyone advance notice about this threat for snow and provide a quick review on how to measure snow and how to determine a water equivalent from your snow.
Basic procedures for snowfall measurement:
Remove the funnel and inner tube from your gauge and set inside. Leave the outer portion of your gauge at its normal location to catch the snow and frozen precipitation.
At observation time, take your gauge inside. Pour a measured amount of warm water into the inner tube and then pour this into the outer measuring tube to melt the snow.
Now determine the total amount of water sitting in the outer tube and subtract out the known amount of warm water your added earlier. This new value is your water equivalent.
Report this amount in the regular precipitation reporting block.
Be sure to then return your gauge to its normal position outside.
If and where possible, set out a snow board to measure snowfall. Snow boards may be plastic or wood and need to be placed in a flat, open area away from trees and your house. At observation time, use a ruler and measure the height of the snow above the flat surface of your snow board. Snowfall is typically measured to the nearest tenth of an inch. Snowfall amounts are recorded in the “New Snowfall” reporting block in CoCoRaHS. For more information on measuring snow, observers should review the training slide show on the CoCoRaHS website.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at the address or phone number listed below. Thanks in advance for your help in recording the possible snow. Snowfall is rare in our part of Texas so I hope everyone will be prepared to measure and track the snow in your area properly.
Thanks and regards,
Bob
Bob Rose
Meteorologist,
Lower Colorado River Authority
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