Reporting Rain Fall

[glow]

"The rain in Spain falls mainly in the Plains" or so I learned in speech class back in my younger years. But I have since learned that it doesn't fall evenly.

Last year (April, 2009) I saw an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that caught my eye. The article was about a group that helps to track rain fall at spots other than official reporting places. Anytime I see a report on the amount of rain fall in Little Rock, I wonder how much I got at my house. Because of that, I've had my own electronic rain gauge a couple of times in the past and present.

The article was about the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and its recent entry into Arkansas. According to their website, "The network originated with the Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University in 1998 thanks in part to the Fort Collins flood a year prior. CoCoRaHS is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local communities. By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, our aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. The only requirements to join 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 CoCoRaHS website is located at http://www.cocorahs.org/. Their website shows the states currently participating in the program (all 50 state now participate). If you click on Arkansas and then click on "View Larger Map" you can click on individual counties in Arkansas. If you click on Pulaski County, my "station" is shown just below the "k" in Pulaski.

As a volunteer, I check and report the rain (or lack of it) each day via their website. They prefer that readings be taken at 7:00 am but since I'm retired, I'm usually still sound asleep at that hour. I take my readings at 8:30 am. Readings taken between 6:00 am and 9:00 am are posted on their map.

If you also have an interest in rain fall (and most of us paddlers do) and a little time, consider becoming a CoCoRaHS volunteer. The only cost involved is the cost of the recommended rain gauge (about $25 plus shipping) and the few minutes you spend entering your readings on their website. Their recommended rain gauge is a high-capacity (hold over 10 inches of rain), manually emptied rain gauge which measures in 0.01 inches. Their website has a lot more information about the program if you are interested.

It would nice to be able to check each morning to see how much rain a particular area received in the previous 24 hours before deciding where to paddle.

[perspective7]

This site is pretty good! Shows the last 48, 24 hrs...whatever you want.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/RFC_Prec ... alysis.php

[ARzach]

It would nice to be able to check each morning to see how much rain a particular area received in the previous 24 hours before deciding where to paddle.

Do a thread search on here for "Fish" & Google-Earth... That thread outlines how to set up G-Streams, which has been extremely accurate in deciding what got hit/what didn't. Enjoy...

--Zach

[Fish]

It's out on the main site now: http://www.arkansascanoeclub.com/Defaul ... eId=655877" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I really like the CoCoRaHS effort and others like it. Makes sense to me that a dedicated group of volunteers can produce some data you can't get any other way. I'd like to see this sort of thing started for streamgauging where we don't currently have any gauges. Chris Bell, of boatingbeta.com fame, has been trying to build a network of level reporter for a while now in the hopes of correlating USGS and other gauges to creeks that don't have any gauges.

I'm playing around with some stuff right now that will likely replace the Google Earth stuff and be the next generation in paddling data on the web. What I really need is for people to bug me to get it done so it doesn't sit on the back burner. Feel free to heap the pressure on me - I want to have it ready for next Fall when the rains come back!

- Fish

[Roger]

What I really need is for people to bug me to get it done so it doesn't sit on the back burner. Feel free to heap the pressure on me - I want to have it ready for next Fall when the rains come back!

Just how does one apply pressure to the Fish? Should we have the Fish wake up one morning with a horse head in his bed? Should we take his kayak and put it on the roof of a building during an alcohol-fueled frenzy?

[Phil W.]

I also report to CoCoRah each morning. I wish my gauge would fill up the next couple of days as the creeks are getting a bit dry.

[Fish]

Roger, some people just have a talent for bugging other people...

- Fish

[glow]

The following came out recently in the CoCoRaHS e-newsletter.
================

Why we do CoCoRaHS*_

There are many good reasons why backyard rainfall measurements are
important. But the flash floods in Texas earlier this week and the sad,
devastating campground flash flood in Arkansas just two days ago -- plus
lesser but significant floods in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas,
Colorado and other areas -- reinforces powerfully just why we do
CoCoRaHS. Your measurements on any given day may not seem all that
useful or important, but every daily rain gauge measurement helps paint
the picture of where there is moisture and where there is not. Some
day, your report will be the one that matters most of all. Your
"Significant Weather Reports" of heavy rain in progress are especially
useful to weather forecasters since those reports are forwarded
immediately to the National Weather Service. It doesn't matter if it
rained 0.20" or 5.20" in the past hour -- if you think it might help the
NWS, then please send in a report.

We had 5 CoCoRaHS gauges fill to the top in just a few hours this week
in south Central Texas from torrential downpours. It rained so hard
that our volunteers never had the chance to go out and take an
intermediate measurement and empty the gauge before the gauges filled
and spilled. With the help of many volunteers we were able to map those
Texas storms very accurately and help the National Weather Service with
warnings, forecast verification, and streamflow predictions.

For those of you who think that meteorologists already have all the
information they need, please think again. Heavy rains can be incredibly
localized. When you look at the NWS dandy nationwide detailed colorful
precipitation maps produced each day http://water.weather.gov/precip/
it is tempting to think "Who needs CoCoRaHS? They already have every
square mile of the nation covered." But the fact is that those
fantastic maps, which are based primarily on radar data, are only as
good as the rain gauge data used for calibration. Your rain gauge
measurements are used routinely, day after day, in providing baseline
"ground truth" information for U.S. precipitation maps and other
products like them. It doesn't matter if you got a lot of rain, a
little, or none; your report still matters.
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