Rain Detectors

Hi Mojang team! 

I've seen this suggested before, but I figured I'd throw some ideas into the brainstorming pool for a potential rain or weather detector feature. 

I'm aware that rain detectors do technically exist in vanilla using Wolves and Redstone, but a part of me is hesitant to build such a contraption as this would mean sealing away a little buddy in a 1 x 1  hole for eternity. I'm sure many players will also appreciate a more ethical alternative.

My initial idea would be something similar to the eye-bloom flowers from the pale garden update. Maybe you find them in the upcoming Sift dimension that only blossoms during rainstorms? Other ideas could maybe be a sort of irrigation block that changes texture during rainy days. Something that simulates flowing rain water, similar to a gutter. Being able to hide the rain detector block or entity would be important, as hooking up a hidden one to an observer block could open the door for players to create cool weather event triggered Redstone contraptions. On a somewhat unrelated note, It would also be neat if villagers avoid being exposed to the sky during rainstorms, but that's more of a mod thing I suppose. 

Thanks for hearing out my suggestions, and I hope my feedback is of some way useful to the team. Keep up the great work!