Columbia, SC (WLTX) - There’s another March Madness going on, but it’s not played by basketball players; it’s between meteorologists and climatologists.
Every March, State Climatologists and National Weather Service meteorologists across the country hold a friendly competition to see what state can sign up the most new volunteer rain observers for CoCoRaHS.
“CoCoRaHS is an acronym,” says Leonard Vaughan, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “It stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.”
The rain data is used by a variety of people and occupations around the country, and volunteers come from all kinds of backgrounds and ages.
“Having this is a big plus for the National Weather Service in their flash flood guidance, fire weather threats and drought monitoring,” says Wes Tyler, a retired State Climatologist. He takes rain measurements even in his retirement.
During severe weather, resources outside of radar can be a critical tool in making big decisions. All it takes is a simple rain gauge.
Having the data available proved helpful during the floods of October 2015 as it showed what areas were hit the hardest. A CoCoRaHS observer in the Mount Pleasant area had the highest total at 13.17 inches.
If you are interested in joining, you can go to the NWS website www.weather.gov/cae/cocorahs.html or to the SC State Climatology website www.dnr.sc.gov/climate/sco/Office/cocorahs.php.