Published: March 27, 2009 11:51 pm      

Recording rainfall

Local volunteers involved in national precipitation observation network

While many of us moan at the wet weather, it’s different for Mike Gardner.

It’s his passion.

Come rain or shine, every morning at 6 a.m., the Kokomo man dutifully measures precipitation in a rain gauge set up in his backyard. During the winter, he also measures snowfall.

Gardner’s hobby, though, is more important than it appears.

He is the Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS, coordinator for Cass, Howard, Fulton, Pulaski and White counties. CoCoRaHS is a grassroots network of volunteer weather recorders who are the National Weather Service’s eyes and ears on the ground.

Gardner, like the thousands of other volunteers in 39 states, enters his measurements on the CoCoRaHS Web site before the daily 8 a.m. deadline.

Weather observers at CoCoRaHS headquarters in Fort Collins, Colo., then assimilate the data on national precipitation maps used by the weather service, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and state hydrologists.

“The data is used to show rainfall but also to predict floods in cases where there have been large amounts of rain,” Gardner said. “It is kind of a hobby, but at the same time it’s a service for different organizations.”

In Indiana, CoCoRaHS is a collaboration between state climate office, the agronomy department at Purdue University and National Weather Service in Indianapolis. The state joined the program in 2005.

Sam Lashley, a NOAA and a CoCoRaHS coordinator for North Central Indiana, said the network was initiated in Colorado in 1998 following a severe flood in which several people died.

“They found that there were not enough recorders to measure rainfall who may have warned meteorologists about rising water levels,” Lashley said. “So they started to get people involved by giving them rain gauges. It has now spread to 39 states in the U.S.”

During flooding earlier this month, data from CoCoRaHS volunteers proved invaluable in assisting the weather service to predict the extent of the flooding.

“CoCoRaHS data is used for river forecasts to predict how high the rivers are,” Lashley said. “The more volunteers we have, the more accurate the data.”

Laura Kanofskhy, a meteorologist with the NOAA, said that the it is easy to get involved in CoCoRaHS and that people do for a variety of reasons.

“Some people do it for themselves as a hobby, some people really like the public service part of it,” she said.

Gladys Sheetz, a CoCoRaHS volunteer in Galveston, registered for the program following a public information session last year and enjoys the public service aspect of the program.

“I already had a rain gauge, that’s about all you need,” Sheetz said. “We are letting somebody know what is going on. A lot of it is done for record keeping.”

As well as Galveston, there are volunteers active throughout the region, including in Logansport and Lake Cicott, but Lashley said the service is looking to expand in Cass and surrounding counties.

To get involved, potential volunteers have to attend a training session where they are given a rain gauge valued at $30. They are taught how to set it up and measure rainfall.

“It is very easy to set up,” Lashley said. “It has four screws and just needs to be attached to a post or fence that is out in the open, away from trees and buildings. It is very simple.”

Lashley, a CoCoRaHS recorder for the past three years, added that joining the CoCoRaHS network is an easy way for him to keep track of rain levels at his home over a period of time, and also touted the educational value of keeping a rain gauge.

“Kids love helping,” Lashley said. “We really want to get more families involved. We have found that a lot of home schooled children have used the data for science and math work. It is a really neat way to keep kids interested.”

He said that the ultimate goal for CoCoRaHS is to have a recorder stationed every square mile.

“That’s the ideal number, but we’re not quite there yet,” he said. “Eventually it will be very useful to study rainfall patters and precipitation in a smaller area.”

Kevin Smith can be contacted at (574) 732-5148 or via e-mail at kevin.smith@pharostribune.com