Temperature effects on vibrating-wire precipitation gauge

In this paper we report the results of temperature effects on 6 Geonor vibrating-wire precipitation gauges located at the NCAR Marshall field site near Boulder, CO as well as some indoor temperature chamber tests results. The Geonor T-200B is the gauge of choice for the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) and is used in the NCAR Weather Support to Deicing Decision Making (WSDDM) system, as well as at many other meteorolgical sites throughout the world.

The Geonor T-200B precipitation gauge can be deployed with 1 vibrating-wire and 2 bucket-suspension chains or with 3 vibrating-wires. In both instances, temperature affects the vibrating-wire devices and suspension chains and causes variable frequency outputs (i.e. precipiation accumulation). This report will look at the temperature effects on the single and multiple VW gauges and various suspension bucket chain configurations.