CoCoRaHS invaluable in extreme rainfall
SOUTH BEND, Ind - Keeping track of record rainfall is important. Automatic rain gauges, like those found at the South Bend Airport work very well but they are few and far between. During extreme rain (and snow) events we need as much information as possible because amounts can vary down to a city block.
The Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow network (CoCoRaHS) encourages citizen scientists to record precipitation in their neighborhood daily. These reports used in forecasts, models, hydrological outlooks and warnings.
We met Tuesday with the national coordinator for CoCoRaHS at the National Weather Service office in North Webster.
do a post storm analysis to see how much rain fell in different places. That helps with their forecasts, it helps emergency managers next time and prepare. So I think CoCoRaHS will play a very big role in that. - Henry Reges CoCoRaHS National Coordinator
CoCoRaHS reports are use locally on a daily basis and were helpful in last years record rainfall in South Bend. The gauge at ABC-57 News recorded over eight inches of rainfall.
The ABC-57 First Warning Neighborhood Weather Team and National Weather Service have a goal to expand the CoCoRaHS network locally. There are some counties/cities/towns in Michiana that have very few (if any) active sites. Support your community and report your weather in your neighborhood. You can learn more about the program here.