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Best Practices > Publications > Publication Titles

Title:

Applications of the Hotplate Snow Gauge

Abstract:

The Hotplate snow gauge is a new meteorological instrument that provides one-minute, real-time liquid equivalent snowfall rates. The ability of the Hotplate to measure real-time liquid equivalent snowfall rates exceeds other snow gauges with its compact design, no moving parts, no fluids to change, and its capability to correct for wind speed variations without the use of wind shielding. Other instrumentation, such as weighing snow gauges, continuously provide accumulation information but often require five to ten minutes of data to derive the corresponding precipitation rate. Requiring this much time for computing the rate will delay timely reporting of rapid variations in snowfall rates. In addition to measuring snowfall rates and accumulation, the Hotplate also measures ambient temperature and wind speed. The wind speed measurement derived by the Hotplate can be used in situations where severe icing conditions occur due to the Hotplate remaining naturally ice free. This paper will discuss the Hotplate snow gauge as it is applied to airport and road weather systems.

Source(s):

American Meteorological Society, 13th Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation; National Center for Atmospheric Research, Research Applications Laboratory

http://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/94402.pdf

Date: 2005

Author:

Tryhane, Landolt, Rasmussen

Keywords:


Precipitation
Environmental Sensor Station (ESS)

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