Question

What precautions should be taken while measuring rainfall?Answer in brief

Answer 1

First, let’s head to the most important question and define what actually a rain gauge is.

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.

You probably wonder what type of measurement units are used, and the answer is – usually inches (millimeters) or liters per square meter.

Answer 2

The following precautions should be taken while measuring rainfall:

• Check and confirm whether the rain gauge is oriented exactly vertically.

• Make sure that the surface on which the rain gauge is placed is not elevated and is completely flat (when the rain gauge is not a suspended one).

• Check for the presence of any particulate matter in the rain gauge and remove it.

• Do not tilt the gauge while taking down the readings (preferably, keep it on a flat horizontal surface).

• Take the readings immediately after the rainfall to avoid errors due to the evaporation of water or by other factors.

• Make sure the gauge is not open to any other source of water other than the rain.