Royston (Iceni) Weather Station

Royston Rainfall from 1853

Rainfall records have been maintained in Royston since January 1853 at several sites within about 1 km of Royston (Iceni) Weather Station. This invaluable series of rainfall data has been continued at Royston (Iceni) Weather Station since May 1972.

This data is in the process of being keyed to computer and archived to DVD. The present availability of Royston rainfall data is shown in the Data available by E-Mail File Attachment page.

Tables of monthly rainfall totals in 25 Year periods may be viewed by clicking on the links below.

1853/1875   1876/1900   1901/1925  
1926/1950   1951/1975   1976/2000  
2001/2025          

Similarly, bar charts of annual rainfall totals in 25 Year periods are available by clicking on the following links.

1853/1875   1876/1900   1901/1925  
1926/1950   1951/1975   1976/2000  

For annual bar charts showing monthly rainfall totals in each year click on the links below. 

Year:

1850   1851   1852   1853   1854   1855   1856   1857   1858   1859  
1860   1861   1862   1863   1864   1865   1866   1867   1868   1869  
1870   1871   1872   1873   1874   1875   1876   1877   1878   1879  
1880   1881   1882   1883   1884   1885   1886   1887   1888   1889  
1890   1891   1892   1893   1894   1895   1896   1897   1898   1899  
1900   1901   1902   1903   1904   1905   1906   1907   1908   1909  
1910   1911   1912   1913   1914   1915   1916   1917   1918   1919  
1920   1921   1922   1923   1924   1925   1926   1927   1928   1929  
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012
These photographs show the instruments used to measure rainfall at Royston (Iceni) Weather Station. The instrument above is the M O Mk 1A rain gauge which is checked daily at 0900 GMT and any collected rainfall measured (see picture below for an 'exploded' view of this gauge). The gauge is fixed firmly in the ground to withstand movement by the wind, and the brass rim of the funnel set at the standard twelve inches above ground level. A deep funnel is employed to prevent splashing of rainfall out of the gauge, and also to hold snow for melting and conversion to water at the observation hour for measurement. The rain gauge is set in short grass to minimise the risk of rainfall splashing off the surface into the gauge.To the left of the gauge can be seen the 30 cm earth thermometer, and behind the gauge the framework supporting the Stevenson Screen. The automatic rain gauge pictured above is used to not only measure the rainfall but also to determine its intensity and duration (as depicted by the various hyetographs displayed on this web site). This gauge is situated in short grass adjacent to the MK 1A rain gauge shown opposite and the rim set similarly at twelve inches above ground level. Rainfall is measured by an infra-red optical sensor as it passes through the gauge, the resultant electronic signals being sent via an underground cable to a remote datalogger which in turn is connected to a PC for download and display functions. The datalogger is set to record the rainfall at 5 minute intervals (but other time intervals could be chosen). Sensitivity of the gauge is 0.01 mm which enables it to double up as a dew gauge also! Data is downloaded to the PC daily and converted from raw data to text files, and exported to spreadsheets.
The Mk 1A rain gauge in pieces! Here the gauge has been dismantled and various components laid out for the purposes of this photograph and explanation. The copper outer cylinder is the only fixed component and is shown here in its permanent position. (The paving slab behind the gauge is sited far enough away from it so as not to present a danger of rainfall splashing from the slab and into the gauge, but near enough for the observer to be able to service the gauge daily without creating a bare patch in the grass!). The glass collecting bottle is housed inside the copper inner cylinder which is itself placed in the fixed outer cylinder. The copper funnel (here shown inverted) is placed is slotted over the top of the outer cylinder and firmly held there. In the event of the glass bottle overflowing (it has never yet done so in a 24 hour period at Royston (Iceni) Weather Station) the additional rainfall would be collected in the inner cylinder. Each day at 0900 GMT the gauge is taken apart and the glass bottle taken out. Any rainfall collected in the preceding 24 hour period is tipped into the measuring glass (again shown inverted here) which is graduated to 10 millimetres. The measuring glass has a pointed base to facilitate the measurement of very small quantities of rainfall.

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(This page last updated 17th January 2013 2019 GMT)