Volunteers needed for rain monitoring network

THE TIMES NEWS
June 16, 2007

Whether you’re on a municipal water system or a private well, all your water comes from precipitation, which can be rain, snow, sleet or hail.

During the summer, with thunderstorms rolling through Carbon County, rainfall amounts vary widely from place to place. It’s important to know the rainfall amount differs not only in your backyard, but also at various locations throughout the county.

Carbon County is fortunate to have a network of dedicated volunteers who collect precipitation on a daily basis, but more volunteers are needed for better data.

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 effect and impact our lives.

The information collected allows county, state and federal agencies to make predictions of possible floods or droughts on a state and local level. It also is used by county Emergency Management Agency to determine forest fire danger, by local farmers and anyone who is impacted by precipitation.

There is a network of monitoring stations across Pennsylvania. They supply daily precipitation reports via the Internet to Penn State University’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The program is called FROST and it is administered by the Pennsylvania State Climatologist.

FROST is part of a larger, national network called CoCoRaHS, which is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network and is based at the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University.

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 and recreation interests, teachers, students, and neighbors in the community are just some examples of those who visit our Web site and use our data.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a major sponsor of CoCoRaHS.

It’s fun to know what happens in your own backyard, compare it to your neighbors, and fill in a piece of the weather puzzle that affects many across your area in one way or another.

The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians coordinate the network in Carbon County. However, it is a program in itself and you do not have to be a member of the Groundwater Guardians to participate.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Frank, who is the Carbon County Coordinator for FROST.