Question
Hi Jim,

Thanks for your past and continued effort for answering my questions. I checked weather.com and it is going to rain today from 3pm(70% chance) to 11pm(40% chance). That is 8 hours of rain! Where (any website) can I check the precipitation rate of the recent rainfall? I just want to know if that 8 hours of rain is equal to 1 inch of water. If it is then I can delay my lawn irrigation at least 7 days or more right? I have mixtures of warm season and drought tolerant tall fescues and micro clovers.

Thanks,

Will

Answer
Hey Will, basically the precipitation rate would depend on how fast the rain comes down. For instance, it might rain for 8 hours, but if it is a real light rain, it might only give you 1/2 an inch of water, where if it might only rain for 15 minutes but put out 1 inch of water. I am not sure as far as websites for the information you are looking for, but I would see if the national weather service might have the answer for you. I agree with you, if you get over a 1/2 inch to 1 inch of rain, you should be able to shut the system off for  a week to 10 days this time of year. I know our local television news station will normally tell how much rain we get after a storm. Good luck and have a great day.