You may have heard the term “it’s raining cats and dogs,” and knew that if you stepped outside, you wouldn’t see Fluffy or Fido falling from the sky. Instead, you know that the term means it’s raining heavily. Rainfall is measured in inches and fractions of inches. A sprinkle is generally one tenth of an inch of rainfall or less per hour, while moderate rainfall is from one tenth to one third of an inch per hour. When it gets heavy and soggy is when it falls at a rate that is over one third of an inch per hour.
A simple rain gauge is a low-tech method of getting a rainfall measurement and all that is required is a container, such as a cylinder with a flat bottom and straight sides. While this type of container can help you gauge whether it was raining cats and dogs, it is very difficult to measure small amounts of precipitation this way.
In order to measure rainfall precisely, the gauge should be located out in the open and away from tall buildings, trees and any other obstructions. Inaccurate measurements are taken if the gauge is too close to large, impeding objects. The science behind the gauges isn’t totally precise, as water that is blowing or falling off of structures can enter the gauge, showing that it was raining cats and dogs when in actuality, it was only a moderate rain shower.
Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed end panic attacks as well as tips on the various anxiety disorder medication available at anxietydisordercure.com.
Other • September 19th, 2009 •