About Rain Gauges

Ever since the year 500 B.C., people have been recording rainfall. It started in Ancient Greece and moved on to India 100 years later, where bowls were used. By collecting and measuring rainfall in various areas, they were able to use the information to better plan farming and also to help figure out land taxes. Today, scientists use rain gauges to measure rainfall, record levels of rainfall and use the data in a number of different ways.

Function

Though there are different types of rain gauges, they all function in generally the same way. They catch rain in a measured container and allow scientists to view the level of rainfall after a shower.

Measurements

Rain gauges are measured in one of two ways. They are either manually inspected by a meteorology lab assistant or have an internal sensor monitored by an Automatic Weather System.

Types

There are a few types of rain gauges out there. The typical one consists of a measured cylinder and a funnel that is set in a larger container. The tipping bucket has a sensor that marks off every 0.2 mm or precipitation and the weighting rain gauge has an added sensor to detect pollutants in the atmosphere.

Limitations

Rain gauges are not perfect instruments. Rain will often collect at the sides of them, which creates an underestimate of rain fall, and strong storms can damage the instrument or severely alter collections.

Origin

The origin of the first rain gauge is debated, though the idea of collecting rain for measurement is clearly ancient. Most people consider the Cheugugi, located in Korea, to be the first official rain gauge.