We are located just North of Houston, near The Woodlands. It's been raining for five days, so far, according to our digital rain gauge, Harvey has dropped 27" of rain on us. More rain to come.

The streets are flooded we can't go anywhere, fortunately, the house is high and dry. My wife could tell I was getting a bad case of cabin fever, so she sent me out to the shop to make something.

With hurricanes and tropical storms, those little 6" rain gauges are pretty worthless, so I thought I'd throw together a Texas size rain gauge, hopefully I won't need it.

Step 1: Make a Base

I had some 3/8" acrylic scrap, so I cut a suitable size piece for the base.

Step 2: The Column

I happened to have a piece of 2-1/2" acrylic tubing left over from a Ham radio project. It was only 29.5" long, but that should be good enough. I put a liberal amount of silicone RTV on the bottom edge to glue it to the base. Silicone is good because if I needed that tubing at a later date, I could remove the glue without harming the yube or base.

Step 3: Install the Scale

I cut off a section of an old measuring tape and placed it in the tube. A little silicone holds it in place.

Step 4: OK Harvey, I'm Ready

They say we are supposed to get more rain. I hope not, but I'm ready.

Things are pretty bad around the area. But Texans are resilient and we'll get through it. We'd rather laugh than cry. If you can, put in a thought or two for those who homes were lost or damaged.