 Every morning hundreds of volunteer rainfall observers in Illinois,
including observers throughout central Illinois, head out to check
their rain gauges, rain or shine. They report their measurements as
part of a popular national weather observation program, the
Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, known as
CoCoRaHS. If you have any interest in the weather, then this program
may be for you.
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network is
currently in the middle of its "March Madness" recruiting drive,
when states compete to recruit the most new observers.
CoCoRaHS is a grass-roots 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. The program started in Fort Collins, Colo., in 1998 and
now exists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than
15,000 volunteers participate nationwide. Volunteers enter their
observation on an interactive website, and observations are
immediately viewable on maps or in tables. CoCoRaHS observations can
be viewed at www.cocorahs.org.
There are currently more than 500 observers across the state of
Illinois making and reporting daily rainfall and snow observations,
supplementing the observations made at airports and by National
Weather Service cooperative observers. These observations are used
every day by the NWS, private meteorologists and climatologists, the
media, civil engineers, municipalities, farmers, and many others,
including the general public.
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CoCoRaHS is looking for additional volunteers throughout the
state
To find out more about the CoCoRaHS program or to join, visit
www.cocorahs.org and click on the "Join
COCORAHS"
link on the Web page. You may also contact Billy Ousley, regional
coordinator, at 732-4029, ext 327; or Mary Moore, Logan County
coordinator, at 732-8150.
[Text from file received from Mary Moore, Logan County CoCoRaHS
coordinator]
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