Every drop of rain, snow or hail matters to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). This non-profit network of volunteers track precipitation in their own back yards.
Greg Clark, of Murray, is a member of CoCoRaHS.
“I’ve always kind of had an interest in weather. It’s always been exciting,” said Clark.
Clark enjoys collecting the data of precipitation in the area and reporting back to CoCoRaHS. Using that data Clark can look back to see that we’ve had the highest amount of rain fall in western Clarke County since he started recording back in 2015.
Clark uses the rain gauge recommended and sold from CoCoRaHS. In using the same type of gauge all volunteers are able to be more accurate with their collections. The gauges mimic those used by the National Weather Service Coops. It’s important to place gauges in the open and far from buildings in order to get the most accurate reading.
In Clarke County there are only two volunteers with a total of three gauges that collect precipitation data and report it back to CoCoRaHS. There are no gauges in the western half of Clarke County. There are no gauges or volunteers in Decatur or Ringgold counties and only two in Union County.
For government funding due to flooding or drought precipitation data is extremely important. There is one National Weather Service Coop that collects data in each county but that does not accurately show the precipitation across the whole county.
To be a member of CoCoRaHS go to their website, www.cocorahs.org, do some reading and complete the training. It costs nothing to be a member, but the rain gauge is around $20, that gauge also can collect snow and hail.
Clark has recently purchased a more expensive gauge that is able to show how much moisture is being taken. He fills it with distilled water and checks it every day to see how much is gone. This gauge helps enormously in times of drought or can help show that the area is headed toward drought and may need to begin conserving water.
All of the information from CoCoRaHS at the University of Nebraska Lincoln comes from across the country and is sent out to the National Weather Service for Meteorologists and others to use.
Clark hopes that many other Clarke County residents will become interested in joining CoCoRaHS and report their precipitation data using the correct and accurate gauges. It can be fun for families with young children to check the gauge daily and talk about the weather and how it affects daily life.