Volunteers Wanted for Weather Monitoring

Pennsylvania has Punxsutawney Phil, but without a weather-predicting groundhog of our own, Missourians make do with a network of volunteer monitors.

A community-based network of volunteers across the state collects weather information to help forecasters issue alerts throughout Missouri.

The Missouri CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network) taps into people power to add to a database of weather information.

“You can never have too much precipitation monitoring, so we try to recruit volunteers to collect that data,” said Pat Guinan, a University of Missouri Extension climatologist with the Commercial Agriculture Program. “Here in Missouri we all know the large differences you can see in rainfall or snowfall over very short distances, from the sub-county level to the sub-neighborhood level.”

Guinan is the CoCoRaHS state co-coordinator with Anthony Lupo, chairman of the MU Department of Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences.

CoCoRaHS began in 1998 at Colorado State University after a Fort Collins flood spurred more interest in collecting data. Since then all 50 states have joined. In Missouri, about 300 regular observers report out of all 114 counties.

To ensure uniform measurements, participants need a specific type of rain gauge, which costs about $30. They also need Internet access to submit reports.

The data is used in various ways, often fleshing out National Weather Service reports and warnings.

“If you receive 2-3 inches of rain within a few hours, you’ll likely receive flash flooding. An observer can submit a significant weather report at any time to the NWS, which may use these reports to issue flash flood warnings,” Guinan said. “CoCoRaHS reports are also used by the river forecast centers, and the more information and ground-truth reporting you can get in a watershed, the better those models will perform.”

Guinan practices what he preaches, diligently checking his rain gauge at his home in Columbia, Mo.

Since most people love to talk about the weather, why not put that information to good use?

“You can never have too many participants, so those interested can go to the website and read more about it and, perhaps, join,” Guinan said.

Learn more at www.cocorahs.org.