Rainfall is measured in terms of millimeters or inches, and, depending on the amount that has fallen, is usually described as light, moderate or heavy rain. It is said to be light rain if the amount totals one tenth of an inch of rainfall per hour. This type of rain is only a sprinkle, and doesn’t get you very wet if you get caught in it. You definitely wouldn’t need a raincoat during light rain. During a moderate rain shower, you would probably get wet if you spent even a short amount of time outside. You would definitely need a raincoat or umbrella to keep the water off your clothes and hair. Moderate rainfall measures from one tenth to one third of an inch of rain in an hour. Meteorologists call it heavy rain if more than a third of an inch of rain falls in an hour. The term, “it’s raining cats and dogs” applies here because there is nothing like a heavy shower to make you run for cover, and fast.

Rainfall was the first weather element that was ever accurately measured. It isn’t known who measured it first or where the first rain gauge was used. Since nothing more than a bucket and ruler are required to get accurate rainfall data, it’s easy to see how this could have been done many hundreds of years ago. History shows that the Greeks kept rainfall records as early as the 5th century B.C, though they never had a measurement for when it was raining cats and dogs.

A tipping bucket records precipitation on a rotating drum or electronically. A simple rain gauge has a funnel, but the funnel leads to two tiny buckets. The buckets are balanced similarly to a see-saw and each holds one-hundredth of an inch of water. When one bucket fills up, it tips down and is emptied as the other bucket fills with precipitation. Each tip of the bucket causes the rotating drum to record an increase of one-hundredth of an inch of rain. This method is not for when it’s raining cats and dogs.

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