Weather Service seeking new eyes on the skies

Do you enjoy tracking the weather? If so, the National Weather Service (NWS) is requesting your help. The office is looking for volunteers in Rhode Island and neighboring areas to report rainfall and snowfall totals through CoCoRaHS, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow network. All you need to join is a rain gauge, a PC or smartphone app to report online, and an interest in observing the weather.

CoCoRaHS is a nationwide citizen-science network, consisting of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who measure precipitation. CoCoRaHS reports are used by the NWS, federal and state water resource officials, climatologists, researchers, and more. Today there are over 50 observers in Rhode Island but more are needed. Last year, Rhode Island was awarded the “CoCoRaHS Cup” for recruiting 41 new observers which was the most per 1,000 residents in the U.S.You probably know that rainfall and snowfall vary from one location to another.

Automated weather stations at airports tell part of the story but reports from CoCoRaHS help fill in the gaps and provide more detail to those who study rainfall and snowfall patterns.

In fact, the reports were relied upon to help assess the drought conditions that emerged last summer.

According to Nicole Belk, NWS Boston/ Norton Senior Service Hydrologist, “Reports from CoCoRaHS were critical in helping our office provide accurate monthly precipitation summaries to Rhode Island water resource officials, and were an important piece of information to make decisions regarding drought status in the state.”

Participating in CoCoRaHS is easy. Reporting rainfall and snowfall just takes a few minutes each day but makes a giant impact upon the millions that depend upon water. You can learn more about rainfall patterns for your own garden or compare your totals with others in your town, state, or the entire country. To sign up, go to the CoCoRaHS website (www.cocorahs.org) and click on the “Join CoCoRaHS” box on the upper right side of the web page. After registering, take the simple online training, order your 4 inch diameter rain gauge, and start reporting.

You can obtain the plastic rain gauge through CoCoRaHS for about $35 plus shipping.