For some folks using a rain gauge means sleeping soundly through the night. Then waking up in the morning, staring at the jumbo rain gauge while they have their coffee and saying, "Honey it rained 1.5 inches last night." That's it, it's nice knowing but not something to ponder.

Other folks would be up during the night, staring at their wireless electronic rain gauge every 20 minutes, watch it accumulate. Then wondering how it compared to last week's rain. For those folks measuring rainfall is a passion. And their business may indeed depend on understanding rainfall. Professional landscapers need to know how much rain their clients' lawns and gardens got. Or farmers need to know how much fertilizer needs to be used for lost nutrients that might have been washed away. And maybe you just love your lawn and want the best for it.

In any event there are a variety of rain gauges available. From the beautiful and decorative rain gauages made of brass and glass that develop beautiful patinas. To the simple plastic ones that you just stick in the ground. There's easy read rain guages. And there's the electronic rain guages that help you understand broader trends.

There's a great collection of rain gauges shown below, and I hope you have a great time shopping for one and then using it. Thank you for visiting this site, Nelle

You'll be making a lot fewer rainy trips to the garden with the Oregon Scientific Long Range Rain Gauge - which can report rain levels from 300 feet away. This wireless remote rain guage displays daily rainfall, 9-day historical rainfall, and total rainfall in either inches or millimeters. It also displays indoor and outdoor temperatures. Although the remote temperature reading has to be within 100 feet of the main console. The water collection cup first measures the rainfall, then when necessary dumps the water out. Two AA batteries are need for the guage two AAA batteries are needed for the sensor.

This is a beautiful decorative rain gauge made of brass and glass. The Vermont Rain Gauge accurately measures rainfall and it can be post or ground mounted. It will work for many decades and as it ages it developes a beautiful pantina. Measures in both centimeters or inches. So it can handle either 5 inches of rain or 12 centimeters of rainfall.

You can easily read this 24-inch tall jumbo rain gauge from 50 feet away. It measures up to 5 inches of rain. It is carefully calibrated to be very accurate. And it has a special funnel design to keep debris out. Mount it on a fence or on your patio. Reliable. Easy Maintenance.

A very economical rain guage, the Luster Leaf Decorative Rain Gauge measurs up to 1.5 inches of rain. It has a vinyl-coated steel stake and you just push the stake in wherever you want it. You adjust the height by the amount you push it in the ground. The gauge and holder are polystyrene. It has a very attractive design and will compliment any garden designs.

The Stratus Rain Gauge is the one that the National Weather Service sends out to people who complete the NWS Skywarn observer training program, so you know that it really is for "professionals." 

The funnel top catches rain and sends it to the measuring tube. If you're expecting snow you have to take the funnel and measuring tube out. Can measure up to 11-inches of rain. But the process can be a bit tedious. The inner tube measures an inch of rain in tenths of an inch increments. If more than that rains it spills over into the larger tube. Just keep pouring the water from the larger tube into the smaller tube until there isn't any more.

So it does hold double the capacity of most other rain guages, and it just takes a few minutes to tally it.

It's very easy to read even in low light. Just stick the Chaney Instrument 5-Inch Capacity Easy-Read Magnifying Rain Gauge in the ground and you're done. Find out how much in rained or how much your sprnkler watered the grass. As rain fills this cylindrical gauge, the water magnifies gradations and digits behind it to clearly display in inches the amount of rain that has fallen. Easy-to-read white numbers and 1/10th-inch markings also ensure easy reading from a distance. It can handle up to 5 inches of rain. It adds a pretty blue color to your garden.