Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

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southern-ct-4
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Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by southern-ct-4 » July 31st, 2019, 10:28 am

Does anyone have a particular app/website that they trust/is accurate more than others (especially here in CT)?

The weather has been tough to predict this year, and too many times the apps I used to love will show a very high chance of rain, only to have it miss me and we get little to nothing, or the opposite; it'll show nothing/a very small chance, and the storm will change and hit us hard.

I'm due for ferrous sulfate, and was going to put it down at lunch today, but Wunderground is now showing just a 50% chance of a .25" (it was almost 90% and .5" as of yesterday), and Darksky is showing 40% but .46".

So it seems likely that I won't get any rain (but as mentioned above it often says a low chance and then hits hard), and if it does happen, I might get as little as .25".

Too much of a risk to put down ferrous sulfate in this situation? I could haul out the sprinklers and water as well, but not really ideal for me...

I don't see any other major rain in the next 10 days.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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andy10917
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by andy10917 » July 31st, 2019, 10:47 am

It's "pop-up thunderstorm" time - that's just the way it is. 20% of an area will get hit with a sudden downpour and 80% won't. There isn't a model yet that can identify exactly who gets what and when on a microclimate level.

You can roll the dice, or you can drag the hoses, but I suspect you already knew that...

southern-ct-4
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by southern-ct-4 » July 31st, 2019, 11:03 am

Yeah... Fortunately I work from home. If I see/think it's going to actually rain a lot, I can always try and run out last minute... We'll see.

schreibdave
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by schreibdave » July 31st, 2019, 3:52 pm

I find that the local news weather guessers sre more accurate than the web sites.

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ken-n-nancy
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by ken-n-nancy » July 31st, 2019, 4:41 pm

schreibdave wrote:
July 31st, 2019, 3:52 pm
I find that the local news weather guessers sre more accurate than the web sites.
+1 Plus, a traditional forecast with maps and a pictorial explanation of what is going to happen is far more informative than the row of little icons in an app, saying 20% rain, 20% rain, 30% rain, 30% rain, etc.

The traditional forecast will give you an understanding if there is a front passing through that is going to definitely result in rain, yet the timing is somewhat indeterminate (leading to a lot of 30% likelihood figures in the hour-by-hour forecast apps), as contrasted with potential pop-up showers which are 30% likely in any given location.


southern-ct-4
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by southern-ct-4 » July 31st, 2019, 4:47 pm

Understood and thanks guys. It did end up 'suddenly' raining a fair amount (not sure exactly how much), but I didn't feel like running out beforehand and applying anything.

Even with the websites/apps I do look at the forecast maps, but this one today really came out of almost nowhere.

Thanks again.

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andy10917
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by andy10917 » July 31st, 2019, 5:18 pm

Even with the websites/apps I do look at the forecast maps, but this one today really came out of almost nowhere.
That's why they call them "pop-up storms". They form randomly under the right conditions, track for maybe 40-50 miles, and then disappear.

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Rain? And should I put down ferrous sulfate today?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » August 1st, 2019, 1:26 pm

I have a small blue tarp and a bungee cord. Couple dollars.

If it isn't raining too hard, you can apply in the rain if you cover the hopper and keep the impeller assembly area relatively dry enough so it doesnt clog up.

Rain coat optional.

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