Comparison of a tipping-bucket and electronic weighing precipitation gage for snowfall

A comparison of a heated tipping-bucket and an electronic weighing precipitation gage for snowfall was conducted over a 173 day period in winter 2009 and 2010 at the Zermatt weather station in the Swiss Alps (1638 m a.s.l.). The main advantages of the electronic weighing system were lower evaporation losses and a higher accuracy in assessing the beginning of snowfall events. The tipping-bucket gage measured overall 23.7% less precipitation due to heatingrelated losses, and showed a mean delay of similar to 30 min in recording the beginning of the events. The delay can be explained by the time it takes to melt the snow and fill the first tip at the given time sampling resolution (similar to 20 min) and by evaporation losses (similar to 10 min). The delay is important if accurate identification of the beginning of events is required. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.