The Pond Hotplate Precipitation Measurement Sensor

Pond Engineering Inc. has created a new hotplate precipitation measuring system that is able to measure liquid water equivalent (LWE) precipitation amounts as small as 0.1 mm/h every five minutes. Unlike standard weighing precipitation gauges, the Pond hotplate is a solid-state design, does not require any fluids, has an improved aerodynamic shape to minimize the impacts of wind during snowfall events and has a small footprint. This new Hotplate technology is able to maintain each plate temperature to within 0.1 C of its set point, allowing the calculation of sensor and control plate differences to within just 1.2 Watts, or (0.1 mm/h). The new Pond Hotplate has been undergoing testing at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Marshall field site to compare again the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard gauge/wind shield system. An overview of the Pond Hotplate sensor will be presented and analyses of the data collected during precipitation events as compared to the WMO standard will also be shown.