Green Thumb Sunday: Rain gauge

Rain gauge

When I woke up this morning, I had an inexplicable urge to build a rain gauge – so I have. I made mine (surprise, surprise) out of a plastic milk bottle, chosen because it wasn’t too big and the handle made it easy to fix to something solid.

I have chosen to use the top half, so that I can easily drain the water out without taking the thing down – it’s held in place with a couple of plastic cable ties, this being a geeky house.

Because I’ve used the top half, and the rain gauge therefore doesn’t have a flat bottom, I can’t measure my rainfall in millimetres. I will have to measure in millilitres instead, but I’ve never understood the millimetre measurements anyway, since the depth of water so obviously depends on the volume of the container. Weird.

If you’re looking for projects for the kiddies during Easter break, then you might want to consider making a recycled weather centre. BBC Wear have got instructions for making a barometer (an indoor project), a rain gauge (a bit more fancy than mine) and a weather vane, all out of odds and ends.

Join Green Thumb Sunday or check out the other participants.

The maximum temperature in the Grow Dome yesterday was 24°C.
The overnight minimum was 6°C.

Posted 2 March 2008, 15:27.   Posted in .

4 Comments for Green Thumb Sunday: Rain gauge

  1. Your rain guage is a wonderful idea, simple yet effective. I usually just rely on a bucket on the deck.

    Crafty Gardener · Mar 2, 07:41 PM

  2. My buckets wander around the garden too much!

    Emma · Mar 2, 10:02 PM

  3. I remember dong projects like these in school—especially the barometer. Hands- on is the best kind of learning experience. Happy GTS,
    Aiyana

    Aiyana · Mar 2, 10:41 PM

  4. I don’t remember doing any weather experiments at school. And now that I’ve started, it’s refusing to rain! LOL

    Emma · Mar 4, 06:53 PM

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