When an ice cube melts in Greenland, it's the lead story on the evening news because it was caused by human-induced global warming. When a polar bear hibernates 50 yards farther north than last year, we're told by news commentators it is because not enough people have purchased hybrid vehicles. When a tornado hits the deep south in February, certain scientists tell us on cable tv it is because the United States did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol. But when a large group of internationally acclaimed scientists get together to discuss the shortcomings of the IPCC's report on climate change, they are absolutely ignored by the national media.

From the ground, it just looks cloudy. But as you go up in an airplane, you see the makeup of the atmosphere is much more complex, with several layers of clouds making up the overcast we see from our backyard. If you know how to read the Skew-T weather map, you can figure out exactly how high those clouds are, layer by layer!

For some, knowing how much rain fell in the backyard is just a matter of curiosity. For others, it is essential to their day to day lives.

Whether you are a weekend weather warrior, or someone whose makes a living based on rain which does or does fall, there is a rain gauge out there for you to measure the rainfall just like the pros.