The hotplate precipitation gauge

Abstract

A new instrument designed to measure precipitation, the "hotplate precipitation gauge," is described. The instrument consists of a heated thin disk that provides a reliable, low-maintenance method to measure precipitation rate every minute without the use of a wind shield. The disk consists of two heated, thermally isolated identical aluminum plates-one facing upward and the other downward. The two plates are heated independently, and both are maintained at constant temperature above 75°C by electronic circuitry that heats the plates depending on the deviation from the set temperature. Precipitation rate is estimated by calculating the power required to either melt or evaporate snow or to evaporate rain on the upward-facing plate, compensated for wind effects by subtracting out the power on the lower, downward-facing plate. Data from the World Meteorological Organization reference standard for liquid-equivalent snowfall rate measurements, the Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) shield system, were used as the truth to develop the hotplate algorithm. The hotplate measures the liquid-equivalent precipitation rate from 0.25 to 35 mm h-1 within the National Weather Service standard for solid precipitation measurement. The hotplate was also shown to measure wind speed during severe icing conditions and during vibration. The high update rate (precipitation rate, wind speed, and temperature every 1 min), make this an ideal gauge for real-time applications, such as aircraft deicing and road weather conditions. It serves as an accumulation gauge by integrating the 1-min rates over time. It can also be used as a rain gauge for rainfall rates up to 35 mm h-1. © 2011 American Meteorological Society.