microclimate

around 2:30 this morning the second thunderstorm of the month rolled through ( unusual for here...unheard of for all i know at the moment...research in the offing ) and left behind a shade more than 3/4" of an inch of rain...i have been contemplating microclimates since i noticed that the instruments in my yard and those at the "official" weather station about a mile from here never seem to agree...this could be because of a disparity between their quality, however i am still interested in climate differences over a small area ( read my back yard )..so i invested in a few more rain gauges ( if i could find thermometers unaffected by direct sunlight i would spread some of those around as well...still looking ) and placed them around the yard...one on the tree next to the thermometer to see how much rain gets through the canopy...one by the tomato bed...and one by the ramp bed on the north side of the house...we will be looking into difference...or sameness if that's what we find.