A funnel directs water into the bucket, and the bucket will tip once the collected water reaches the predefined limit. The number of tips estimates how much rain was collected. 

Derives the amount of precipitation from the weight on a flat scale. 

Single point observation that collects precipitation amount to be measured. Rain is funneled into the small inner cylinder, which measures one inch. If more than one inch of precipitation falls, it overflows into the larger cylinder.