Posted March 13, 2010, 5:38 PM.

The cause of the problem was a cotter pin in the way of the tipping buckets. The cotter pin holds a plastic grate in place to keep larger debris from going down the funnel into the tipping buckets.

The problem can occur when a gauge is cleaned out, which has happened a few times this season due to bird poop. If the cotter pin isn't bent back into place right, it can obstruct the buckets from tipping, and when that happens, rainfall is not recorded.

We're looking forward to the rain gauge operating just like usual for any storms this spring.