TABLE OF CONTENTS

Precipitation .................................................................................................................................... 2
Working of Rain gauges .................................................................................................................. 2
Observation Instruments ................................................................................................................ 2
Graduate Cylinder (standard gauge)........................................................................................... 3
Tipping Bucket............................................................................................................................. 3
Weighing gauge .......................................................................................................................... 4
Optical gauge .............................................................................................................................. 5
Ground-based weather radar ..................................................................................................... 5
Earth-observing satellites ........................................................................................................... 5
Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) ....................................................................... 6
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) ................................................................................. 7
Accuracy of precipitation gauge measurements ............................................................................ 7
References ...................................................................................................................................... 8

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MEASUREMENT OF PRECIPITATION
1 PRECIPITATION
Precipitation is defined as liquid or solid condensation of water vapor falling from clouds or deposited
from air onto the ground. Precipitation in the form of ice flakes, such as snow, is called solid
precipitation, and that in the form of water drops is sometimes called liquid precipitation for distinction.
Precipitation is measured as the amount of water that reaches horizontal ground or the horizontal
ground projection plane of the earth’s surface, and is expressed as a vertical depth of water or the water
equivalent of solid precipitation. The rain gauge is a meteorological instrument for measuring the
amount of precipitation (especially rainfall amounts) fallen during a given time interval at a certain
location. In short – the rain gauge are used to measure rainfall. It is commonly used in personal or
automatic weather stations. There are different types gauges, some use direct measurement technique
or others are completely automatic.

2 WORKING OF RAIN GAUGES

The rain gauge consists of two important parts:

 a collector funnel;
 mechanism to receive and measure the collected water;

The interior of the rain gauge funnel has special coating to reduce the wetting of the surface. The cone
of the funnel should be deep enough, which allows the water to flow without any risk of splash. Mesh
filter are used to prevent debris like leaves of bird droppings from clogging the gauge.

Place the rain collecting device at a sufficient height (usually 3 feet from the ground), and at a distance
of several feet from other objects ensures that there will be no water rebound from floor or objects
around.

3 OBSERVATION INSTRUMENTS
Instruments for measuring precipitation include rain gauges and snow gauges, and various types are
manufactured according to the purpose at hand. Rain gauges are discussed in this chapter. Rain gauges
are classified into recording and non-recording types. The latter include cylindrical and ordinary rain
gauges, and measurement of precipitation with these types is performed manually by the observer.
Some recording types such as siphon rain gauges have a built-in recorder, and the observer must
physically visit the observation site to obtain data. Other types such as tipping bucket rain gauges have a
recorder attached to them, and remote readings can be taken by setting a recorder at a site distant from
the gauge itself to enable automatic observation.

The rain gauges were originally manual, that is to say, a meteorological technician had to come and
regularly check the rainfall amounts and empty the unit – a tedious job especially with high amounts of

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rain. With technological advancement in the early twenty-first century, the gauges were equipped with
sensors that enable electronic collection of data to be continuous and form a distance. However, manual
rain gauges are reliable and accurate and are still used by amateurs or networks of volunteer observers.

There are four types of gauges:

 graduated cylinder (called standard or direct reading gauge);

 tipping bucket;
 weighing gauges;
 and optical;

3.1 GRADUATE CYLINDER (STANDARD GAUGE)

The standard rain gauge was developed at the beginning of the twentieth century and consists of a
graduated cylinder (2 cm diameter) in which the collection funnel drains. Most of these gauges use scale
from 0.2 mm to 25 mm. If the main unit accumulates too much water, the surplus is directed to a bigger
container with diameter around 20 cm.

You record the total rainfall by measuring the total height reached on the cylinder. This is a straight
forward device and quite easy to use.

3.2 TIPPING BUCKET

The tipping bucket gauge is made of collector funnel that directs the rain towards a two small
containers, positioned on either side of a horizontal axis. The water collects inside one of the buckets
that flip horizontally when it reaches the required weight, and discharges trough the force of gravity.

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The amount of precipitation is measured by the number of switchovers carried by the buckets, detected
by a mechanical or optical system.

The advantage of this type of gauge is that it measures the rate of precipitation in addition to the total
rainfall. However, when the precipitation rate is too high it may jam and report inaccurate rainfall data.

Tipping bucket rain gauge is not as precise as direct measurement, because if the rain ends before one
of the buckets is full, the water inside will not be counted. Later a gust of wind can tip it and give a false
accumulation when there is no rain. The tipping bucket is the most commonly used type of rain gauge in
home weather stations. Often times they use remote wireless communication to send their data.

3.3 WEIGHING GAUGE

This type of rain uses the mass of accumulated water inside the collection container to calculate
precipitation amount. Earlier models were recording the data by moving the tip of a stylus on to a
graphic paper specially calibrated for this purpose. With the advance of technology the data is collected
by a sensor and converted into numerical values directly into a logger.

This type of rain gauge measures all the rainfall and can measure solid precipitation, such as snow and
hail. However, it is more expensive than direct-reading rain gauge and requires more maintenance than
the tipping buckets.

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3.4 OPTICAL GAUGE
The optical gauge is has a funnel on top of a photodiode or a laser diode. Rainfall is measured by
detecting optical irregularities. The funnel directs the drops at the light beam, then by measuring the
intensity of scintillation it can electronically determine the rate of precipitation.

3.5 GROUND-BASED WEATHER RADAR

Ground-based weather radars emerged during World War II and have since been used to observe
precipitation, mostly over land. Ground-based radars send out pulses of microwave energy in narrow
beams that scan in a circular pattern. When the microwave pulse encounters precipitation particles in
the atmosphere, the energy is scattered in all directions, sending some energy back to the radar. These
measurements are used to estimate intensity, altitude, precipitation type (e.g., rain, snow, hail), and
motion. Obtaining continuous measurements of precipitation from ground-based systems (e.g., from
rain gauges and radar systems) presents a challenge due to large gaps between monitoring sites on land
and huge gaps over the ocean.

3.6 EARTH-OBSERVING SATELLITES

Earth-observing satellites can provide frequent estimates of precipitation at a global scale. To do this,
satellites carry instruments designed to observe specific atmospheric characteristics such as cloud

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temperatures and precipitation particles, or hydrometeors. These data are extremely useful for filling in
data gaps that exist between rain gauge and ground-based radar sites and offer insights into when,
where, and how much precipitation is falling worldwide. Satellite data also provide a unique vantage
point. While ground-based instruments can directly measure or estimate how much precipitation falls to
the ground, satellite instruments estimate the amount of electromagnetic radiation (or energy) that is
emitted or reflected either from the tops of the clouds or from the rain droplets themselves, providing a
top-down view. Spaceborne radar instruments can even observe the three-dimensional structure of
precipitation. Such satellite observations are detailed enough to allow scientists to distinguish between
rain, snow, and other precipitation types, as well as observe the structure, intensity, and dynamics of
storms.

3.7 TROPICAL RAINFALL MEASUREMENT MISSION (TRMM)

The Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), a joint mission between NASA and the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was launched in 1997. TRMM measured heavy to moderate
rainfall over tropical and subtropical regions for over 17 years, until the mission ended in April 2015.
Measurements from TRMM advanced our understanding of tropical rainfall, particularly over the ocean,
and provided three-dimensional images of storm intensity and structure from space using the first
satellite-borne weather radar.

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3.8 GLOBAL PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENT (GPM)
TRMM’s successor is another joint NASA-JAXA mission called the Global Precipitation Measurement
(GPM) Core Observatory, launched on February 28, 2014 from the Tanegashima Space Center, in Japan.
The Core Observatory carries two instruments—the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and GPM
Microwave Imager (GMI)—collecting observations that allow scientists to dissect storms. Like a
diagnostic CAT scan, the DPR provides a three-dimensional profile that shows the intensities of liquid
and solid precipitation. The GMI provides a two-dimensional view to look in depth at light rain to heavy
rain and falling snow—like an X-ray. The Core Observatory is part of an international constellation of
domestic and international satellites that together provide global observations of precipitation from
space—called the GPM mission. Together, the constellation observes rain, snow, and other precipitation
data worldwide every three hours.

4 ACCURACY OF PRECIPITATION GAUGE MEASUREMENTS

Measuring rainfall is of crucial importance in agriculture. That is why most farmers have stand-alone,
manual rain gauges plus a Rainwise weather station connected to NEWA. Comparing measurements of
precipitation between a manual rain gauge and the data being collected by your weather station for

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your site is a good habit to get into. Automated tipping bucket rain gauges are calibrated by the
manufacturer but, after two or three years in service, they can drift in calibration. Rainwise tipping
bucket rain gauges have an accuracy rating of 2% at 1.5” per hour. This means that the difference
between the amount of rain collected by the manual rain gauge and the amount recorded by the
Rainwise tipping bucket rain gauge for the same time period should be no more than 2%. Calibration
drifts in tipping buckets can lead to errors of 5%, possibly as high as 10%. If your tipping bucket rain
gauge is collecting less than 90% of what your manual gauge is collecting, there is likely a clog in the
tipping bucket collector.

5 REFERENCES
Accuracy of rain gauge measurements. (2017, April 19). Retrieved from Cornell.edu:
https://blogs.cornell.edu/yourenewa/2015/06/18/accuracy-of-rain-gauge-measurements/

How to Use Rain Gauge to Measure Rainfall Amounts. (2015, June 11). Retrieved from NW Climate:
http://www.nwclimate.org/guides/how-to-use-rain-gauge/

MEASURING PRECIPITATION: ON THE GROUND AND FROM SPACE. (2018). Retrieved from World Bank:
https://olc.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/sco/E7B1C4DE-C187-5EDB-3EF2-
897802DEA3BF/Nasa/chapter2.html

Observation of rainfall. (2007, August 17). Retrieved from Australian Government - Bureau of
Meteorology: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/cdo/about/rain-measure.shtml

Rain gauge. (2018). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_gauge

Shepherd, J. M. (2014, February 27). Reflecting on NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement mission,
launching today. Retrieved from Planetary: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-
blogs/2014/0227-reflecting-on-nasas-gpm-mission.html

Tokay, A. (2015, September 9). How well can we measure precipitation? Why is it so important?
Retrieved from The Global Program: https://www.globe.gov/web/ali.tokay-1/home/blog/-
/blogs/how-well-can-we-measure-precipitation-why-is-it-so-important-

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