This is a "Snotel" station. The tall tube with the hat is a rain/water-content gauge. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of that hat is, but the fingers hanging down can spin around.
Behind the water gauge is a small tower that houses a temp/humidity probe and an ultrasonic snow depth sensor. All this data is collected and radioed back to USDA.
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/ 
