Starting the afternoon of January 21st, the clouds began building up (from what was originally a clear morning) for a rain shower we were promised. I wondered if the clouds were going to get lower as the "storm" approached, so I measured the temperature of the ground and clouds with a thermal imager (Seek Reveal) every 30 minutes. When the storm finally arrived at 6:00 PM MST, a light drizzle persisted all night. Here are the results.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_FgUQ7sQ-6RJF6VIJtwaA4l-orf7GbE-7pKjhUVp7yKwBC4It7F_hvxCJa54ZKNU2SuqOsXKrE39Krb2lccVb_0f773uPwDrr27oRFfRkkv6JNegIwkUDe2l4yRgods5LlOtZKVuPQ/s640/temperatures+waiting+rain.JPG) |
The ground temperature dropped only five degrees F over the course of my measurements. The cloud temperatures on the other hand increased 31 degrees F over the same time. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AkkGIpuBk53Q2FlyXa_ZG7ObUQAIeqFLPO5JPfnTf9dO_BWYyz-E5wWmXtmGNZeGW7vBzY80vZV3itUS_zcU6aZbfSSTyyGLgleGSi7Voq-TIecDyXF8KLH4ATESCa6BVDYvTciE2w/s640/cloud+altitude+waiting+rain.JPG) |
Assuming a dry adiabatic lapse rate of 5.4 degrees F per 1,000 feet, this is the height of the clouds as the rains approached. |
I need to repeat this experiment several more times to see if it remains consistent. This also means making these measurements when I know it''s not going to rain or snow.
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