A gauge that measures the water content of rain and snowfall

Credit: Geonor

Like snow pillows, precipitation buckets also measure the water content of new snowfall, but instead of weighing the snowpack as it accumulates on the ground, they weigh the snow that falls into a bucket. Some precipitation buckets are filled with anti-freeze, causing snowfall to melt, and the gauge calculates how much water has been added with each storm. Other precipitation buckets are heated. During exceptionally windy storms, precipitation buckets may be less reliable because the snow isn’t falling straight down into the bucket. Occasionally precipitation buckets get clogged by a cap of snow during big storms. Unlike snow pillows, precipitation buckets can also measure rain events when there is no snow on the ground.