CoCoRaHS article

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http://www.northjersey.com/news/138101893_These_area_residents_don_t_just_talk_about_weather_.html

NJ CoCoRaHS network seeking a few good rainfall reader volunteers

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Last updated: Thursday January 26, 2012, 1:54 AM

BY TARA KOLTON

STAFF WRITER

Suburban Trends

Pages: 1 2 3 > display on one page | Print | E-mail

If you've got a passion for precipitation, then the opportunity to become a "rainfall reader" for the state might not be one to miss out on.

Dr. David Robinson, New Jersey’s state climatologist, is one of the program coordinators for the NJ CoCoRaHS (NJ Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network) – a volunteer weather observing program coordinated out of Rutgers University. Here, Robinson shows the 4-inch diameter plastic rain gauge that is required for volunteers to take their daily

The NJ Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, which goes by CoCoRaHS, is a volunteer weather observing program coordinated by the Office of the NJ State Climatologist at Rutgers University. CoCoRaHS is seeking more than a few good volunteers to help in the state network’s efforts to most thoroughly and precisely measure and report precipitation across the state.

CoCoRaHS, a nationwide network, welcomed New Jersey into the program in early 2008. The rapidly expanding precipitation monitoring program now has more than 15,000 active volunteers in all 50 states and over 200 in New Jersey.

All that is required to participate is a 4-inch diameter plastic rain gauge, a ruler to measure snow, an Internet-connected computer, and most importantly, the desire to watch and report weather conditions.

While measuring precipitation on a daily basis may sound like quite a commitment, according to local volunteers, the process takes only a few minutes out of their day.

"The data collection is simple – I have the rain gauge attached to the balcony of our condo – it’s not blocked by any buildings or other balconies or trees, and every morning when I get up, I check to see if there is any rain in the cylinder," said Haskell resident Nancy Males. "It’s only a 5-minute time commitment, unless there is snow. Then it becomes a little more complicated for data collection. This is a daily activity, but if I’m gone on vacation I can do a multi-day accumulation report."

And while daily readings are ideal, Dr. David Robinson, state climatologist and co-coordinator of CoCoRaHS, emphasized that any and all contributions are valuable to the network, even if volunteers can't commit to reporting every single day.

"Even if it's half the days of the year, it's an important contribution," said Robinson. At Rutgers, he and the assistant state climatologists "rely tremendously on citizen scientist volunteers."

Volunteers will need to purchase a $25 precipitation gauge, and are asked to read their rain gauge at the same time each day (preferably between 5 and 9 a.m.). Measurements are then entered by the observer on the CoCoRaHS website, www.cocorahs.org, where they can be viewed in tables and maps. Training is provided for observers, either through online modules, or in group sessions that are held at different locations around NJ.

For snowfall, Robinson noted that volunteers should measure when the snow has stopped accumulating that day. The process involves melting down the snow in order to take an accurate measurement of the inch count in its liquid state.

The information from the CoCoRaHS network is used in many different communities for environmental studies, emergency management, and research purposes: "It's not just fun data gathering – they are gathering for important applications," said Robinson. "But it's fun too."

Local volunteers

While many who volunteer for CoCoRaHS don't hesitate to refer to themselves as "weather geeks," there is no formal background or expertise in the area required.

"I think there are a lot of people out there who are interested in the weather and like seeing trends in rain, snow, and hail," said Males, a science teacher in Englewood. "This project is a fantastic example of ‘citizen science,’ where people with no formal training in science can contribute valuable data to trained scientists."

Males and her husband got involved as CoCoRaHS volunteers during the drought in the summer of 2010: "The science teacher in me couldn’t resist!"

Dennis Steinerd, a longtime resident of West Milford, has been a CoCoRaHS volunteer since 2007.

"The information we collect is available to the public and is used often by many broadcast meteorologists in the New York metropolitan TV/radio media market," said Steinerd. "West Milford always seems to get quite a bit of media attention because of our geography and proximity to New York City, and I’ve seen my measurements used on the air a number of times."

"When you see these snow totals posted by the weatherman on TV, there is a real good chance they are coming from a CoCoRaHS observer," said Steinerd. "It’s fun and I encourage folks of all ages to get involved."

And for Amy Boyle Geisel, rainfall reading is a family affair. She and her husband Karl, along with their children Matthew and Katherine, got involved with CoCoRaHS after picking up a pamphlet about the program at the Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood.

The Ringwood residents have been involved since this past summer, and Geisel said that her kids love to help out. It wasn't long until they could see the value of their contributions as Tropical Storm Irene walloped the area in late August:

"During the Hurricane Irene storm, we collected 9 inches of water in less than eight hours. I sent in three reports that day and got reports back that our information was used by agencies to calculate how bad that storm actually was in this area," said Geisel. "That sort of information helps for future forecasts, current allocations of funds for aide, cleanup and gets the impact information where it needs to go to get people help that they need."

Robinson, who co-coordinates the NJ CoCoRaHS program with Mathieu Gerbush, said that the program can never have enough volunteers.

"Precipitation can vary from one side of town to another," said Robinson, explaining that the beauty of the network is that, for example, if he has one observer that records 90 inches of rainfall in one year – if five other observers record the same results, it serves as a "cross validation." For a relatively small area, such as the northern Highlands of New Jersey, it makes these observations believable.

Anyone interested in signing up or learning more about the program can visit the CoCoRaHS website at www.cocorahs.org, or send an email to [email protected].

[lab94]

^{I have been doing this for 2 years. Its real easy to do. In fact I got a email the other day from them. My station was one of three I think that broke the old yearly precip total. I wont have any record because the other 2 had more than I did/ But it will help them confirm that amount.}

^{Here is the start of the email....}

Hi Bob,

As you may be aware, 2011 was a record wet year in NJ (preliminarily 64.87" fell statewide based on an average of many stations). On an individual station basis, the current-standing calendar year record is 85.99" in Paterson during 1882. It happens that the 2011 precipitation total from your CoCoRaHS station of 87.93" exceeds this long-established record! Therefore, we hope you can provide some more information about your reports and your station. This will be used by a national committee that is being convened to determine whether a new precipitation record will be officially designated in NJ. Here's what we're interested in: