Page:Handbook of Meteorology.djvu/243

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

in order to hold the section firmly. It is advisable to cut at least three sections. The melted snow may then be measured in the tube, taking one-third of the total. Melting the snow may be expedited by pouring into the barrel containing the
The Marvin shielded seasonal snow-gauge.
snow a measuring tube exactly full of hot water, thereby reducing the snow to a condition sufficiently liquid to be measured. Two inches must be deducted for the water added; one-third of the remainder is the depth of equivalent rainfall.

In mountain regions where the depth of a single fall may be several feet, such a method of reduction is out of the question. Several convenient expedients are employed. A gauge 40 inches high with an interior diameter of 10 inches provided with a Nipher shield, is used at the station where not less than two observations a day are made. The accumulation of snow is weighed from time to time on a spring balance, the dial of which reads hundredths of an inch instead of ounces. A mechanical device lifts the receiver from its support so that it can be readily removed to the swinging arm that carries the balance. This