Live rainfall for your location or any city — today's rain in mm and inches, 24-hour chart, weekly and monthly totals, intensity classification, and rain forecast updated in real time.
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This online rain gauge shows the current rainfall for your exact location or any city worldwide using live weather data. It displays today's rain total in both millimetres and inches, hourly rainfall over the last 24 hours, weekly and monthly rainfall totals, current rain rate, intensity classification, and a 24-hour rain forecast. The animated cylindrical gauge fills with water in real time to match actual rainfall accumulated today.
A rain gauge — also called a pluviometer, ombrometer, or udometer — is a meteorological instrument used to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation that falls over a set period of time. The simplest rain gauge is an open cylindrical container of known diameter with a calibrated scale measuring depth in millimetres or inches. Rain gauge meaning in everyday use covers any device that measures rainfall — from simple garden cylinders to professional automatic stations. The word comes from Latin pluvia (rain) and Greek metron (measure).
How a rain gauge works depends on its type. A standard cylindrical rain gauge collects falling rain through an opening of known area and measures the depth of accumulated water on a calibrated scale. A tipping bucket rain gauge uses a small seesaw-like lever holding two tiny buckets — when one bucket fills with a precise amount of rain (typically 0.2mm), it tips over, generating an electronic pulse and emptying. A weighing rain gauge measures the increasing weight of accumulated rainfall. An optical or laser rain gauge measures the disturbance of a light beam by falling raindrops. All convert collected precipitation into a depth measurement in millimetres or inches.
How to read a rain gauge correctly: (1) Place the rain gauge on a level surface in an open area away from buildings, fences, and trees that could block falling rain. (2) The gauge should be mounted with its rim at least 30 centimetres above the ground. (3) After rainfall, look at the water level inside the cylinder at eye level. (4) Read the millimetre or inch markings at the bottom of the meniscus — the curved surface of the water. (5) Record the value, then empty the gauge ready for the next reading. Standard meteorological practice records rainfall at 09:00 each day for the previous 24-hour period.
You can make a simple homemade rain gauge with a few household items. Take a clear cylindrical container with straight sides — a 2-litre plastic bottle works well. Cut off the top third of the bottle and invert it into the bottom section to act as a funnel that prevents evaporation. Mark a centimetre or millimetre scale up the side using a permanent marker and a ruler. Place the gauge outside on a flat surface, well away from walls, trees, and overhangs. Empty after each measurement. While not as accurate as a professional rain gauge, a homemade version can give useful approximate readings for garden or school projects.
The standard rain gauge is the simplest and oldest type — a cylindrical collector with a funnel that channels water into a narrow inner measuring tube. Because the inner tube is narrower than the outer cylinder, small amounts of rainfall produce a measurable water depth. A common standard design uses an 8-inch (203mm) collection diameter. The user reads the rainfall manually against a calibrated scale, typically once per day at a fixed time.
A tipping bucket rain gauge is the most common automatic type used in modern weather stations. Inside the funnel, a small seesaw-style lever holds two miniature buckets. When one bucket collects a fixed amount of rain (commonly 0.2mm), its weight tips the lever, emptying that bucket and bringing the other bucket into position. Each tip generates an electronic pulse counted by a data logger, allowing automatic, continuous rainfall measurement and rain rate calculation.
A weighing rain gauge measures the increase in weight of accumulated precipitation in a collection container. These gauges are highly accurate and can also measure snow, hail, and other forms of solid precipitation, which tipping bucket gauges cannot measure correctly. Weighing rain gauges are used in research stations and at official meteorological observatories.
An optical or laser rain gauge has no moving parts and no collection container. It measures rainfall by detecting how falling raindrops disrupt a beam of infrared light or laser between a transmitter and receiver. From the pattern of disruption, the gauge calculates rainfall rate. Optical rain gauges are increasingly used at airports and on ships because they are reliable, low-maintenance, and can also detect snow and hail.
Acrylic rain gauges are clear plastic versions of the standard manual gauge, popular for home and garden use. Wireless rain gauges combine a tipping bucket sensor with a wireless transmitter that sends data to an indoor display unit, allowing rainfall to be monitored from inside. Many wireless models also log historical data and connect to home weather networks.
Rainfall is classified by intensity based on the rate of accumulation in millimetres per hour:
What is heavy rain? Meteorologically, heavy rainfall is rain falling at more than 7.6 mm per hour. Daily heavy rain warnings are typically issued when totals are forecast to exceed 50mm in 24 hours, while exceptional events exceed 100mm in 24 hours. The wettest places on Earth — Cherrapunji, India and Mount Waialeale, Hawaii — average over 11,000mm (430 inches) of rainfall per year.
How much rain today for your location is shown live at the top of this page. The reading is calculated as the sum of all hourly rainfall since midnight local time. Daily rainfall is the standard measurement period in meteorology — official rainfall records are maintained as 24-hour totals, traditionally measured from 09:00 to 09:00 the next day. The 24-hour rainfall chart on this page shows the actual hourly distribution of rain through the day, while the rain forecast section predicts expected rainfall for the next 24 hours.
Rainfall is measured in two main units worldwide: millimetres (mm) used by the metric system in most countries, and inches (in) used in the United States. To convert: 25.4 mm = 1 inch. So 50mm of rain ≈ 1.97 inches, and 100mm ≈ 3.94 inches. This page displays rainfall in both mm and inches simultaneously, with a built-in converter for any value. A measurement of "1mm of rain" means that if all the rain that fell stayed in place without runoff, evaporation, or soaking in, it would form a layer 1mm deep over the entire area.
The rain gauge has a long history. Ancient Greek philosophers including Theaetetus made systematic rain measurements around 400 BC. In India, the Arthashastra (around 400 BC) described the use of rain gauges for agricultural planning. The first standardised national rain gauge network was established in Korea in 1441 under King Sejong the Great, using a bronze rain gauge called the cheugugi mounted on stone pedestals at observation stations across the country — predating Western standardisation by nearly 200 years. In Europe, Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke designed early tipping bucket rain gauges in 1662. The modern standardised cylindrical design dates from the 19th century.
Rain gauge data is essential across many fields. In agriculture, rainfall measurements help farmers plan irrigation, sowing, and harvesting. In hydrology, rainfall data feeds water resource models for reservoirs, rivers, and groundwater management. In flood forecasting, real-time rain gauge networks combined with radar provide early warning of dangerous rainfall accumulations. In civil engineering, rainfall records inform the design of drainage systems, sewers, and flood defences. In climate science, long-term rainfall records reveal changing precipitation patterns associated with climate change. Even at home, garden rain gauges help with irrigation planning and water-saving.
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