Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-10-04
The rain GAUGE.
A Description Of the Instrument Used
By Government Observers.
How It Is Constituted and the
Method of Noting the Amount OF
Precipitated, as we'll as the Wat
or Contained in Snows-The Pro-
cess Very Simple.

There has long been considerable
amount of public curiosity regarding the
appliance known as government rain
gauge, such as is used by Druggist c.
Schnepf the official observer in this
city, for measuring the amount Of pre-
cipitation, and many enquiries have
been addressed to Mr. Schnepf and the
local press, asking for details.
The gauge used on top Of the Reilly
block, in this city, is of the standard
government pattern, and may be de-
scribed as follows:
The gauge Is composed Of two tubes,
each twenty inches high and one within
the other. The outside tube, known as
the receiving tube, is eight inches in in
side diameter. while the inner, or meas
uring tube, is 2.53 inches in inside diam
eter. The larger tube is provided with
a funnel shaped cap, the larger opening
of which is eight inches in diameter, and
the smaller 2.53 inches, where it joins
the measuring or inner tube. Thus, he
superficial area Of the top Of this funnel
is exactly ten times the area OF the
smaller portion and Of the inner meas
uring tube, with which it is connected.
AS a result of this, one-tenth Of an inch
of rain falling within the open top OF the
funnel-shaped tube, is magnified ten
times in the inner or measuring tube,
and apears there as one inch, while one
one hundredth of an inch Is in like man
ner magnified to one-tenth of an linen.
This is so arranged to facilitate meas
uring. The measurement is taken with
a gauge, graduated TO inches and tenths
of an inch, and after each rainfall, or
once or twice day, at stated times, is
inserted into the small inner tube, and
the depth of water noted. If the meas
urement, for example, shows a depth Of
one and half inches in the inner tube.
the observer knows that .15 Of an inch
of rain has fallen, for the inner tube
magnfies the actual fall just ten times.
He makes the proper entry, notes the
hour of the observation, pOurs all the
water out of the gauge, and awaits the
next observation. II the rainfall should
be so heavy as to completely Gil the
small inner tube, which is twenty inches
high, or, in other words. if there should
be over two inches OF rain, the surplus
escapes from the small tube, through a
hole in its top, at the point where 1t
joins the funnel-shaped cap, and runs
into the bottom of the large outside
tube. The observer finding the small
tube full, and an overflow in the large
tube, notes the twenty inches of water
in the large tube magnlfied, as above
stated, ten times, as two inches, pours
out the water from the small tube, and
pours into it what is found in the large
tube, and notes how far it is filed the
second time. If the overflow, for in
stance, fills the small tube half full, the
observer adds another inch 10 the two
previously noted, and announces the
rainfall as three inches, and so on for
any amount. The snow fall is measur-
ed by exposing the outside tube only,
than melting the snow, and pouring the
resulting water into the measuring
tube, where it is measured by the stick
as in the case Of rain, and the snow fall
thus reduced to RAINFALL. The snow
fall is measured separately as to actual
depth, and is noted along with the meas
uaement reduced to rain. The Observa-
tons are entered in suitable blanks and
are forwarded every month to the head
quarters of the weather bureau.