By Drew Gardner
Starkville's weather in 2020 has been one of its rainiest.
After a record 90 inches of rainfall last year, climatologists and engineers have found a way to study rain patterns and better prepare for infrastructure collapse in case of rain that was on last year's level. This February has been Starkville’s wettest February on record and it’s only halfway over with.
So why is the Starkville engineering department collecting rainfall data now?
Calculating rainfall isn't just about measuring how much rain Starkville gets within a day, week or month, it can help calculate runoff as well. Starkville grounds right now are extremely damp and muddy. This is where measuring helps.
Civil engineer Cody Burnett says calculating rainfall could lead to new regional detention ponds to help capture some of that runoff.
"We're looking at designing regional detention ponds for the city, that could be used as a skate park or a walking track," Burnett said.
Burnett's and the Starkville City Hall engineers are using equipment located on top of City Hall to measure the rain.
Assistant state climatologist, Dr. Chris Fuhrmann says measuring rainfall on any scale is critical during rainy years like 2019 and 2020.
"Measuring rain more than just once a day, or even more than just once an hour, maybe measuring it on scales of minutes so that we can understand how quickly it's falling and then look at how the infrastructure responds,” Fuhrmann said.
Calculating rainfall can minimize runoff, better prepare for intense rainfall and improve city infrastructure.