Rain gauge

Rain gauge is an meteorological instrument for determing the depth of precipitation (usually in mm) that occurs over a unit area (usually one metre squared) and thus measuring rainfall amount. One millimetre of measured precipitation is the equivalent of one litre of rainfall per metre squared.

Usually a tapering funnel of copper or polyester of standard dimension allows the rain-water to collect in an enclosed bottle or cylinder for subsequent measurement. The gauge is set in open ground with the funnel rim up to 30 cm above the ground surface. Some gauges are calibrated to allow the amount of rainfall to be read directly; with others it must be calculated from the depth of water in the container and the dimensions of the funnel.

Standard meteorological gauges have a funnelled aperture of 150-170 cm and are designed as a simple passiv collector. The amount of precipitation is determined by use of a graduated measuring glass.



The second type of rain-gauge is the autographic gauge which can be either of the tilting-siphon type or the tipping-bucket type. The recording chart on an autographic rain-gauge is mounted on a drum which is driven by clockwork and typically rotates round a vertical axis once per day. For a tilting-siphon rain gauge, the rainwater in a collector displaces a float so that a marking pen attached to the float makes a continuous trace on the paper. The two buckets in a tipping-bucket rain gauge rest on a pivot so that when one bucket has received 0.2 (or 0.5 mm) of rain it tips by gravity, empties the rainwater and allows the other bucket to start collection. During the tip, an electrical switch is closed and triggers a nearby autographic recorder to register each 'tilt', thus givi ng a fairly continuous record of precipitation and, in a more sophisticated form, even rainfall intensity. Rain gauges must be sited in as representative a location as possible, but the choice of location is difficult, since many precipitation events are highly localized.

Related features:

Rain forecast

Rain recordings