National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

It is exciting to see that CoCoRaHS has expanded across the United States at a rapid pace over the past few years and is now the largest provider of daily precipitation observations in the country.   Even more exciting is the expansion of CoCoRaHS to our neighbors to the north.  In December 2011 CoCoRaHS Canada began with the province of Manitoba.  Other provinces will follow in the not too distant future. 

So when you have the chance please tell a friend or neighbor about this exciting grassroots effort to measure precipitation in the backyards of citizens from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  It's easy to join, takes only five minutes a day and is a fun way to learn about this wonderful natural resource that falls from the sky.  We are striving to have 30,000-40,000 active observers by the end of 2013 which will give us an ever clearer picture of the amount of precipitation that falls in our backyards.

Can I participate? Absolutely! The ultimate goal of the program is to have one observer per square mile in urban/suburban areas and one observer every 36 square miles in rural areas. 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.   Once trained, volunteers collect data using low cost measuring tools such as a 4-inch diameter high capacity rain gage (pictured right), snow boards to measure snow, and aluminum foil-wrapped Styrofoam hail pads in some states. Information on purchasing a rain gage can be found via the CoCoRaHS main page.

Is training available? Free training sessions are held around the state at various times of the year. Attending one of these personalized sessions is highly recommended. However, there are also training materials available online. For more information on training options check out the Illinois CoCoRaHS page.

 

Click the play button below to view a video about the CoCoRaHS Program
(viewable in Internet Explorer)

How do I join? Either click on the “Join CoCoRaHS” image to the left or visit the CoCoRaHS home page at www.cocorahs.org to get more information on the program.