Rain Gauge Decision Guide
This app ranks gauge types by your priorities. The key lesson is that gauge bias is event-dependent: some systems look wetter in light events, while weighing gauges tend to look stronger in heavier events.
Fast answers
Best overall accuracy: Research-grade weighing gauge
Best practical consumer option: WH40H / 5kRAIN
Best Ecowitt setup: WS90 + WH40H
Best winter performance: Weighing gauge class
What the sliders do
They tell the model what you care about most. Higher weight means that trait matters more in the ranking.
What presets do
They are saved slider bundles. They do not use hidden logic beyond the live weights.
Where to start
Use Decision Lab for ranking, then Compare Two Gauges for direct tradeoffs.
Current top drivers
Why the ranking changed
Live bar chart
Ranked recommendations
| Rank | Gauge | Score | Best for | Main strengths | Main weaknesses |
|---|
Compact comparison matrix
Compare two gauges directly
Radar-style comparison
Head-to-head table
| Trait | Gauge A | Gauge B | Who wins? |
|---|
Main evidence frame
There is no single always-high or always-low answer. The biggest pattern is event-size dependence.
- Light precipitation: tipping/manual systems can look wetter than weighing gauges.
- Heavier precipitation: weighing gauges can look wetter than tipping/manual systems.
Heavy rain
Tipping buckets have finite motion time and can show nonlinear undercatch in harder rain. This is why raising heavy-rain accuracy pushes weighing gauges upward.
Frozen / mixed precipitation
This is where weighing gauges retain the strongest case. Heating, melt delay, evaporation, and phase handling complicate tipping-bucket behavior.
Consumer takeaway
If you want the best practical home choice, use WH40H / 5kRAIN. If you want true measurement quality, go to a weighing gauge.