CITIZEN SCIENTISTS NEEDED! The National Weather Service Wants YOU to Measure the Rainfall
Press release from the National Weather Service office on Woodley Island:
Do you ever wonder how much rainfall you received from a recent
thunderstorm? How about snowfall during a winter storm? If so, an
important volunteer weather observing program needs your help! The
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network, or CoCoRaHS, is
looking for new volunteers across northwest California. This grassroots
effort is part of a growing national network of home-based and amateur rain
spotters with a goal of providing a high density precipitation network that
will supplement existing observations.
CoCoRaHS came about as a result of a devastating flash flood that hit Fort
Collins, Colorado, in July 1997. A local severe thunderstorm dumped over
a foot of rain in several hours while other portions of the city had only
modest rainfall. The ensuing flood caught many by surprise and caused
$200 million in damages.
CoCoRaHS was born in 1998 with the intent of
doing a better job of mapping and reporting intense storms. As more
volunteers participated, rain, hail, and snow maps were produced for every
storm showing fascinating local patterns that were of great interest to
scientists and the public. Recently, drought reporting has also become an
important observation within the CoCoRaHS program across the nation. In
fact, drought observations from CoCoRaHS are now being included in the
National Integrated Drought Information System.
How does one become a CoCoRaHS observer? Go to the CoCoRaHS
website above and click on the “Join CoCoRaHS” emblem on the upper
right side of the main website. After registering, take the simple online
training, order your 4 inch rain gauge and start reporting!
To obtain a rain gauge Volunteers can order through the CoCoRaHS website for about $35 plus shipping. We do have
a limited number of rain gauges to give out if you are able to be a regular
observer and there is a limited number of observers currently in your area.
Observations are available on maps and reports for the public to view
within five minutes of submitting them. The process takes only five minutesa day, but the impact to the community is tenfold: By providing high quality, accurate measurements, the observers are able to supplement existing
networks and provide useful results to scientists, resource managers, decision makers and other users.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Matthew Kidwell at the NWS in
Eureka at matthew.kidwell@noaa.gov or call at 707-443-6484 and talk to
Matthew Kidwell, Scott Carroll or Ed Swafford.
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