We recently heard from Ella Stroupe, CPCTMN Class of 2018, regarding her activities in the newly approved CoCoRaHS project:
“I recently joined CoCoRaHS. (www.cocorahs.org) If you are interested in the weather, this might be for you. This is a project that collects data on daily rain amounts, soil temperatures, thunder, etc. Right now I’m focusing on rain. You can also collect data on frost, soil temperature, hail, thunder, etc. I installed the rain gauge that they require. There are instructions and training on their web page. It’s important that you follow their guidelines.
Each morning at 7:00 am, I go outside and check my gauge for rain. I remove it from the mount, bring it inside, get an accurate reading, then clean it and take it back outside and remount it.
I then log into my account and put in my data. Here are some photos of my gauge. It has three pieces. The top is funnel shaped. Inside it has a cylinder that holds one inch of rain. After it fills, it overflows into the outer cylinder and it stays there until you measure.
This is a community project. Everyone can help, young, old, and in-between. The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives. CoCoRaHS is used by a wide variety of organizations and individuals. The National Weather Service, other meteorologists, hydrologists, emergency managers, city utilities (water supply, water conservation, storm water), insurance adjusters, USDA, engineers, mosquito control, ranchers and farmers, outdoor & recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community are just some examples of those who visit our Web site and use our data.
CoCoRaHS has several goals. 1) provide accurate high-quality precipitation data for our many end users on a timely basis; 2) increasing the density of precipitation data available throughout the country by encouraging volunteer weather observing; 3) encouraging citizens to have fun participating in meteorological science and heightening their awareness about weather; 4) providing enrichment activities in water and weather resources for teachers, educators and the community at large to name a few.
One of the neat things about participating in this network is coming away with the feeling that you have made an important contribution that helps others. By providing your daily observation, you help to fill in a piece of the weather puzzle that affects many across your area in one way or another.”
by Ella Stroupe