Rain gauge & water pump

Rain Gauge

We had rain for a couple of days in a row. It was too bad for the kids going out to trick-or-treat. 

I'm glad I didn't drain the water barrel. The fresh water is good in the goldfish pond. We've a few frogs in it. I want them to be able to hibernate.

 I enjoy keeping track of rainfall. Stratus is the gauge I have used for years. It is 'built to US Weather Service standards.' Some of the professionals have them. The first one I bought is from 2015.

2015

 

I taped it for a few years. The tape just falls off. The funnel keeps falling out of line. Which doesn't matter too much, as it captures it at the bottom. But in the dark, in a rain storm, it is irritating!

I've dropped it, on very cold days, and cracked my original kit. I've cracked the larger cylinder, too.

I put it on my wish list one year. It was available from Lee Valley Tools. No more. Looking for a new one, the prices shocked me. (Have you heard about tariffs?!) Yes, the consumer pays them.

This is about what we paid awhile back, this one isn't available. I clicked on the link, and it gave me a 404 message. They are out of stock, I suppose.

Once I began searching for it, it would pop up in my google ads, of course. But I'm not shopping at Walmart or Wayfair anymore. Not with tariffs, and billionaires profiting off the items.

Wayfair

Even on American sites it is out of stock.
With the exchange rate, it would be $65.85 CAD, plus shipping.

Amazon

Also Amazon. A knock-off, methinks.
That, I do not trust.

I ended up doing a better job of my repair. Several layers of clear packing tape. Whatever that doohickey is named around the rim reinforced it. 

Bird bath

Another problem with Amazon. I am trying to avoid it, going to the publisher or manufacturer's websites directly. Canada doesn't make these products, though. There was a simple pump that lasted 10+ years. The pumps helps stop mosquitoes laying eggs in the water. They like still water.

I first bought it in 2020, and then in 2023. It lasted two years. Not bad for something that lives in water 24/7. We have terribly hard water.

I ordered a replacement pump/light from Amazon. 

This is what they sent. No fancy LED lights. I have complained, twice. Once to the seller, once to Amazon. They don't seem to care. 

They can't get it right. Some weirdo seller. That's up to me. I should have checked it out. I am culpable.

June weather

June 30

A wonderful month of rain. 

First month of my new gauge!

Precipitation for 2015

January 2015  -  33 cm; 8 mm
February – 38 cm snow
March – 7.5 cm snow, 11mm rain!
April – 84mm rain
May – 68mm
June – 156mm

June 28

0.15 + 0.42" rain

June 23

Winds galore, and lots of power outages!

June 22

We only had 2.54 mm (0.1") despite all these clouds on the radar.

June 16

Bill petered out!

June 10

Conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain. Thunderstorms ahead of an approaching frontal trough will affect many portions of the regions this afternoon. Some of these storms could be severe. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles. Remember, severe thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.

June 8

Jun 14

June 5th

June weather –lots of tornadoes!

Here it is, July 1st, and we haven't had rain for 5 days.

June 23/4

By 10:00 a.m. we'd had 7mm, with rain still falling. Total 14mm.

June 16/17

What a mess across the province.

1. Over 500 without power in Torrance area after hydro wires knocked down by Norah Fountain Hydro wires spark, cause smoking bush across from Torrance Community Centre 2. Lightning injures 4 on golf course near Toronto

3. There was a tornado reported in Angus, Ontario, too. It is near Barrie, about 100km north of Toronto.

1. 
   Tina Fourget did a great interview, and CBC posted her video (sans ad, I might add!).
   

   Angus storm witness

   CBC.ca ‎- 1 hour ago

   A tornado blew out windows, tore up fences and sheared off the ... it ripped through the central Ontario community of Angus on Tuesday evening.

It is a bad spot, with moisture picked up from the Great Lakes and blowing it across the land. By the time it gets to us, it's lost a lot of its wind power. We did have 24mm of rain.

These are scary warnings. I recall the May 31st Oklahoma tornado that killed two National Geographic storm chasers. Tim Samaras, author of Tornado Hunter, and his son, Paul, were brutalised by a rain-wrapped, 3-funnel tornado. They worked hard to gather data and help the professionals be better at predicting storms. This storm picked up speed, changed directions, ultimately killing a total of 22 people. It is a lesson in awareness.

Hopefully, this app
will be ready by July!

There are people working on an app that will predict and forewarn of a Tornado. It is an interesting concept. They have crowdsourced and found Indiegogo funding at the rate of 160% over their goal!

Watch the video for more information.

June 12 - 14

Day #1 I compared the new and old gauges.

Day #3

A new one!

June 11th

Another storm came by. Poor hubby, again, was doing Meals on Wheels. We have had very hot days recently. I'm happy for the rainfall.

June 3

Lots of heavy rain in Toronto, but it seems to break up as it approaches us, like the stone in the river.

June 3

June 3 Ontario Tornado Watch