The Anglesey 'Rain Man' who's measured rainfall for 75 years says his 'hobby keeps him going'

  • ITV Wales' Ian Lang spoke to the Rain Man who started measuring rain at the age of 10.

An Anglesey man who passionately measured rainfall for the last 75 years for free has now been awarded for his dedication.

Tom Bown is locally known as the 'Rain Man' or 'Dyn Brwr-or' has been recording rainfall since he was 10 years old at Llwydiarth yr Esgob Climate Station, almost every morning.

Mr Bown is now 85 years old and when asked what made him keep going, he said: "It's just a hobby really, interest and it kept on going for years."

The job was previously carried out by the members of his family and it became a part of his life. But what started as a hobby also helps farmers.

Tom Bown known as the 'Rain Man' has been recording rainfall at Llwydiarth yr Esgob Climate Station in Llannerchymedd since he was 10. Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

Mr Bown added "It was a help for the farmers as well because with the farming if it rains heavily at night then you don't know how much it rains. You come in the morning and you see how much it rained at night."

His contribution was recognised by Natural Rescouces Wales (NRW) and the Met Office.

According to NRW, Mr Brown is one of a kind and they have awarded him for his unpaid work.

Christina McKay from NRW called it "an extremely unique situation"

She said: "We'e got a number of rain gauges that might have been open across the UK for over 100 years. But not a single rain gauge where a person has measured rainfall for such a long period of time."

This is not his first accolade and he was awarded an MBE 25 years ago.

Mr Brown records daily rainfall in a Casella Daily Storage Rain Gauge.

The water from the glass bottle stored within the gauge is poured into a 10mm measuring cylinder and is then recorded as the previous days’ total precipitation.

Tom Bown's contribution was recognised by Natural Rescouces Wales (NRW) and the Met Office. Credit: ITV Cymru Wales

Rainwater is measured for many important purposes across the UK by different monitoring authorities and private observers.

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These include trend analysis, precipitation event analysis, water balance calculations, potential run off, river flow forecasting, flood warning services and river regulation.

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