CoCoRaHS: A Community Volunteer Program Measuring Precipitation

MADISON, Wis. (CIVIC MEDIA) – The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network trains people into weather observers, helping scientists and Meteorologists.

Have you ever heard of CoCoRaHS? Because there are hundreds of them all around you, right here in Wisconsin and even throughout the country.

It’s a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation.

CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. And anyone can be a part of it!

It’s 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.

The network originated with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998. They just celebrated 25 years last year. With over 26,000 active observers in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Bahamas.

You know the saying “Rain doesn’t fall the same on all” it really proves to be true. You’ve seen it before, you’ve gotten rain in your neighborhood and a few blocks away not a drop has fallen.

So each time a rain, hail or snow storm crosses your area, volunteers take measurements of precipitation from as many locations as possible. These precipitation reports are then recorded, data is then displayed and organized for people to analyze and apply to daily situations ranging from water resource analysis to severe storm warnings.

By volunteering to be a weather observer, you can help increase the density of precipitation data available throughout Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsor CoCoRaHS. 

Here’s how to register now. You can purchase a rain gauge there, too.

A unique thing 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 the state.

Free training is included and sometimes there’s field trips, special speakers, picnics, pot-luck dinners, and photography contests are all a part of it, too.

So tell a friend or neighbor about this exciting grassroots effort of citizens measuring precipitation right in their own backyards. It’s easy to join, takes only five minutes a day and is a fun way to learn about this wonderful natural resource that falls from the sky.  

These observations continue to give scientists an ever clearer picture of where and how much precipitation falls throughout our communities.