Scientists Seek Better Way to Measure Rain

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Meteorologists at North Carolina State University are working on a way to more accurately measure rainfall in small areas.

They’re developing software programs that use radar readings in combination with measurements taken from ground gauges to more accurately estimate where it rained and how much rain fell.

Rainfall can vary greatly over short distances, so the new measuring tool will provide a better understanding of how wet or dry an area is. Filling in these information gaps will make water-management decisions easier should drought threaten.

The reliance on only a handful of well-monitored gauges for the region’s rainfall history makes it difficult to see patterns, said Ryan Boyles, an associate state climatologist at the State Climate office at N.C. State.

“If it doesn’t fall on the airport, it’s like it didn’t fall,” Boyles said.

Boyles and student assistants are still working out problems with the software, but he expects it to be available to the public through the state climate office’s Web site sometime this fall.

Radar systems have long been used to detect approaching storms, but these projections aren’t always accurate, Boyles said.

The estimates become much more reliable when the calculations are adjusted to include rainfall totals recorded at collection stations.

Instead of relying on spots 30 miles apart to paint the region’s weather portrait, the program will make it possible to determine within a two-and-a-half-mile square area.

The program should help meteorologists answer questions about local weather patterns, Boyles said.

“Does the flow of rivers like the Yadkin affect weather patterns? Can the moisture present in large bodies of water or even smaller lakes cause storms to develop? These are the types of questions we hope to answer,” Boyles said. “How do we then use that information to improve forecasting models? That’s the ultimate goal.”

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On the Net:

State Climate Office of North Carolina

Information from: Winston-Salem Journal

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