Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network
An article in our local paper, You can help keep track of the rain, is a great introduction to Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (or CoCoRaHS):
Anyone can do it, including kids, with parental permission. He suggested it as a school project.
“It’s a great way for a hands-on experiment, to collect and submit data,” Bell said.
The only real request is that volunteers use a four-inch-diameter, non-automatic rain gauge, in an attempt to keep the gathering as uniform as possible, Bell said.
Once signed up as a volunteer, the person can quickly submit information taken at 7 a.m. to the Website. Even “zero” amounts should be submitted, Bell said.
As well as the rainfall numbers, volunteers also can add details of the day. Some offer terse assessments and others are more poetic or hopeful about the weather in their corner of the community.
Checking out these cool hail pads almost makes me wish I lived in an area with hail! And their discussion about why they don’t use automated rain gauges is really interesting.
Check it out: Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.
