In regards to reading/dumping during high rainfall events, no matter how fast you can read and dump the gauge, there's always going to be some missed "catch." Plus, there's the whole danger aspect of going out during a severe storm.
Some of our more dedicated observers actually have two complete gauge set ups, myself included. I'm the type of person that likes back ups should something break and I don't have to wait for a replacement to ship. The second gauge also works well for high rainfall accumulation events. If the gauge being used is filling up quickly and you think it will reach the limit of what it can hold, take the second gauge out and swap it with the one currently reading. Then you can read the first gauge inside the house, out of the elements, and you did the best you could to minimize the "missed catch."