About the data
One clear number,
with context.
My Rain Guage turns detailed weather datasets into an approachable rainfall estimate for a selected U.S. location and time period.
What the number represents
The result is an estimate for the weather-data grid cell nearest the selected coordinates. A grid cell covers an area rather than a single backyard. That distinction matters because a brief thunderstorm can soak one neighborhood while leaving another nearby almost dry.
Recent rainfall
Today, 24-hour, 7-day, and 30-day reports use Open-Meteo’s current weather service. My Rain Guage retrieves hourly rain and shower values, excludes future hours, and adds only the completed hours within the selected period. Hours are grouped using the selected location’s local timezone.
Historical rainfall
Custom-date reports use Open-Meteo’s historical weather service. The site sums daily rain estimates between the chosen start and end dates. Historical products combine observations with weather-model analysis to provide consistent coverage, including places without a reporting gauge nearby.
Why another gauge may disagree
- A physical gauge measures only the rain falling into that instrument.
- A weather grid represents an area and may smooth out a small, intense storm.
- Wind, trees, buildings, gauge placement, and maintenance can affect physical measurements.
- Weather datasets can be updated after additional observations and quality checks arrive.
Good uses and important limits
The site is useful for curiosity, gardening context, travel follow-up, and a quick sense of recent conditions. It is not a replacement for an official gauge record, flood warning, insurance document, engineering analysis, or regulated agricultural measurement.
Source documentation
Technical details about variables, update timing, and underlying models are available in the Open-Meteo documentation. Emergency weather information should come from the National Weather Service.