Does anyone have a rain gauge they like that survives freezes? For multiple years now I’ve tried to do a better job of tracking freezing events in combination with recent precipitation, but I keep missing some and so my gauge shatters (or cracks enough to make it useless). Thus, it’s probably better if I can find one that can survive some of my mistakes. I’d use the various online tools for tracking rain but I’ve noticed several times at my location that radar isn’t aligned enough with the actual precipitation we’re receiving to make those as accurate as I’d like. I don’t need a fancy wifi-connected/weather station one, and would prefer a simple one, but I’d get a fancy one if it means it can survive a frost-after-rain event
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The standard for cocorahs observing is the Stratus rain gauge. It can hold up to 11” of rain. Of course it too can crack over time if you let enough water keep refreezing in it.
If you want a stand-alone tipping bucket, the Rainwise gauge meets NWS 8” diameter specs. Tipping buckets self empty every 0.01”.
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Thanks for sharing! I’d never heard of cocorahs or tipping buckets before. And honestly I’d never considered the mechanisms required to try to accurately record small quantities of rainfall or heavy downpours; that is really interesting
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The tipping gauges are fairly accurate although the error increases with very heavy rain because a small amount is splashed off of the middle of the tipping mechanism when it tips.
Most of the official airport stations have been converted over to what they call the AWPAGs (All Weather Precipitation Accumulation Gauge). They are weighing-type gauges with an antifreeze that melts frozen precipitation. Then they have wind screens (sometimes dual) that cuts down on the wind turbulence around the gauge to improve precipitation “catch”…especially with snowfall. None of us can reasonably afford those though. 
All of my equipment is Davis Instruments…I have a full weather station along with solar and soil sensors. But the Rainwise is a solid standalone tipping rain gauge.
Here’s some instructions on the Stratus gauge. Basically the inner cylinder holds 1.00” of rain and any extra spills out into the outer gauge around it. You just need to pour the outer into the inner after you measure and empty the original inner amount.
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as an aside, when i put my off the shelf temp/humidity sensor outside, what the best place for taking a reading? do you put it in the shade or direct sun? its in its own plastic case so i would assume you wouldnt want to put it in the direct sun because it would artificially increase the temp sensor inside 
My Acurite station, and many others, have solar/battery -powered aspirating motor/fan to make direct sun readings more accurate. If your device does not have this, better to install in the shade.
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Correct. Any sensor not in a proper radiation shield will be subjected to other possible sources of radiation…solar radiation being the primary source of large error. So yes, in your case you would want to have your sensor protected from the sun. Without shielding, they can also read too cool at night because the sensor/housing can emit radiation to the clear sky and read cooler than ambient. Think of frost on the car even though the 2m ambient may only be 35-37F.
There’s passive and fan aspirated radiation shields. The old cooperative observer stations use those large wooden passive Stevenson screens. Now they’re mostly made of white plastic. The probes or sensors fit inside of the gilled shields and reflect radiation while allowing air to pass freely in.
The aspirated shields have fans that actively pull air through the sensor chamber and exhaust the air above. A lot of the home stations have these now as there’s improved accuracy in light wind conditions and faster response time to changing conditions.
But technically the 2m temperature and dewpoint are supposed to be measured in the full sun with proper shielding. This is what the Davis looks like.
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