Ancient Egyptians were sometimes confronted with this same problem.
There were some small differences - it was usually (but not always,
depending on if that **** moses was around or not) sandstorms, and not
snowstorms; they wanted to be able to stay in their chariot, instead of
their car - and it wasn't houses they needed to measure, it was
pyramids.

Knowing this, they devised a simple, economical and efficient system
for taking measurements.