Rain and snow, both natural precipitation phenomena, are produced by disturbances in the atmospheric cycle and are an integral part of the Earth's water cycle, as well as being the only way to replenish fresh water to terrestrial organisms far from rivers and lakes. Precipitation is the primary source of surface runoff and the main source of groundwater recharge.

Precipitation is the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere and its fall to the ground as liquid or solid water.

Rain and snow, both natural precipitation phenomena, are generated by disturbances in the atmospheric cycle and are an integral part of the Earth's water cycle, as well as being the only way to replenish fresh water to terrestrial organisms far from rivers and lakes. Precipitation is the principal source of surface runoff and the main source of groundwater recharge. The uneven spatial distribution and temporal instability of precipitation is a direct cause of flooding, waterlogging and drought.

There are two types of sensors relating to rain and snow, rain gauges which are used to measure rainfall and rain and snow sensors which monitor whether rain or snow has fallen. When I was browsing through the relevant information, I found that there have been many articles on rain gauges, but few articles on rain and snow sensors, so this article will introduce rain and snow sensors.

Rain and snow sensors

A rain and snow sensor is one of the components of a weather monitoring system. The device is a special device designed to measure whether rain or snow falls outdoors or in nature. Rain and snow sensors are used in a wide range of applications in meteorology, agriculture, industry, marine, environment, airports, ports and transport for qualitative measurements of the presence or absence of rain and snow.

Working principle of the rain and snow sensor

Monitoring rainfall: Rain and snow sensors use grid electrodes above the sensor to take advantage of the electrical conductivity of water, which causes the electrodes to short circuit when rain falls onto the sensing zone so that the device can monitor rain.

Monitoring snowfall: The rain and snow sensor is able to measure snowfall because the sensor has an automatic heating function to prevent icing and condensation in snow, when the temperature is below 0°C for long periods and in high humidity environments. And the heating temperature can be set.

Practical applications for rain and snow sensors (rain)

Rain and snow sensors can be used in greenhouses. In times of frequent rainstorms, after the rain sensor monitors the rain information, it can effectively reduce the loss of greenhouse crops by linking the rain avoidance equipment of the greenhouse through the corresponding system and sending signals to the greenhouse management staff at the same time.

In addition, in the case of weather that is not noticed by farm managers, when the system monitors abnormal data, it sends a reminder notice to the grower within a set period of time, so that even if they cannot reach the greenhouse greenhouse site in time, the greenhouse manager can take measures remotely to reduce losses. In unmanned conditions, the rain and snow sensors can still automatically manage the greenhouse by linking the relevant systems through parameter settings, so that the vegetables in the greenhouse are always in the right growing environment.

Practical applications for rain and snow sensors (snow)

Rain and snow transmitters can be used on motorways or railway tracks. In the northern part of China, highways or railways in winter often encounter bad weather with wind and snow. We all know that when the weather is bad, highways are closed. Imagine the embarrassment if, during a heavy snowfall, the car is blocked on the highway due to unclear weather conditions and you can't get in or out.

The snow and rain sensor is a qualitative measuring device for measuring snowfall outside. The rain and snow sensor has an automatic heating function, which prevents data deviations caused by ice and dew when it is snowing, when the temperature is below 0°C for a long period of time and in high humidity environments, the grille of the rain and snow sensor is automatically heated. After monitoring the snowfall, the rain and snow sensor can upload the data to the cloud platform through the corresponding highway weather station or railway weather station, and after making an accurate judgement on the snowfall with other sensors, the driver who is still on the highway or already on the highway will be reminded to make early preparations.

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