Range Report Judging wind speed by observing rain

Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

Never heard of one, but I may have slept through that class.

I do know, shooting in the rain affects the shooter more then the ammo/gun.
 
Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

So far, so good.

Wind and rain are related, but typical weather patterns tend to put winds higher as a front moves in, then die off as it becomes settled in. I would think that if one actually went out to shoot in a significant rain event, they'd soon realize that rain's main effect is to block visibility.

I doubt rain could be an effective wind telltale.

I say this after spending a year and some in 'Nam, where the Monsoon quickly makes a believer out of one. Me; I believe I'll have another beer, and be damned glad I'm still around to enjoy one.

Greg
 
Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

On rain effects:
http://snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=959810

(with exclusive comment by Lindy)

on rain angle related to wind speed I found this interesting article that looks at it from an engineering standpoint when designing houses.
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jaabe/4/1/223/_pdf

Basically:

depending on rain drop size rain will fall at different rates but most of the time it is between 10-19 or so mph, 19 being a soft maximum. The guys who did that article posted above just went with a mean rain speed of 4.5 m/sec which is like 10 mph or so.

V= 4.5*I^0.107

V = mean speed of rain drops in meters/sec
I = intensity of rainfall in millimeters/hr (similar to our inches/per hour measurement)

we can change the formula they give around to be:

U = (tan 0)*4.5*I^0.107

U would be your wind speed in m/sec and 1 m/sec = ~2.24mph

So if you can get the angle of deflection of the falling drop and know roughly how fast the rain is falling you could...theoretically calculate wind speed. o_O good luck...I think I will just stick to watching trails and following up fast
smile.gif
 
Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

Here's some follow-up on the Jello-to-the-wall numbers:

The following table contains fall speeds based on observations by Gunn and Kinzer (1949). These data were collected under sea-level conditions (1013 millibars and 20 degrees C).

Diameter (mm) Fall speed (m/s) Diameter (mm) Fall speed (m/s)
0.1 0.27 2.6 7.57
0.2 0.72 2.8 7.82
0.3 1.17 3.0 8.06
0.4 1.62 3.2 8.26
0.5 2.06 3.4 8.44
0.6 2.47 3.6 8.60
0.7 2.87 3.8 8.72
0.8 3.27 4.0 8.83
0.9 3.67 4.2 8.92
1.0 4.03 4.4 8.98
1.2 4.64 4.6 9.03
1.4 5.17 4.8 9.07
1.6 5.65 5.0 9.09
1.8 6.09 5.2 9.12
2.0 6.49 5.4 9.14
2.2 6.90 5.6 9.16
2.4 7.27 5.8 9.17

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2000-07/962626446.Ph.r.html

***
Here's what I read last night while studying something else:

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/JianHuang.shtml

On snippet in there puts the average raindrop at 25 fps, or 7.62 meters/second. According to the earlier observations at sea level, that would correspond to a drop size between 2.6 and 2.8 mm.

So, the answer all "depends"...
 
Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

yea with more research I would be inclined to go with a drop size of about 2-3 mm

anything bigger then 4mm supposedly splits into smaller drops (most of the time)

and for what its worth...drizzle has a fall speed of about 2 m/sec


I still think the answer is have a good spotter and watch the trail
 
Re: Judging wind speed by observing rain

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hopps</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[snipped some good data and observations]

I still think the answer is have a good spotter and watch the trail </div></div>

Ah, but isn't the point to be able to observe conditions and dial in corrections so all the spotter gets to see is trace to the on-target hit, *instead of* reading mils of correction for the 2nd shot that you may never have a chance to take?