Become a Weather Observer, Volunteer With CoCoRaHS! A Great Experience For Young Children & Senior Citizens Alike

​Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) is a non-profit weather observing network with thousands of volunteers across the United States, Canada, and The Bahamas.  These volunteer weather observers take daily weather reports from their homes and businesses and submit them to the CoCoRaHS database, which is used to help meteorologists create forecasts, publish weather alerts to save lives and property, and assist in the diverse professional meteorology community. 

The best part about it – it only takes a few minutes each day, you can do it from home, and the only requirement is to have enthusiasm about watching and reporting the weather, with a desire to learn. 

CoCoRaHS Standard Rain Gauge

While the largest component to CoCoRaHS is recording rainfall and snowfall data across North America, other weather data such as hail, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, thunderstorms, frost, flooding, drought, solar optics, and other weather phenomena are encouraged to be reported, providing you are equipped with the correct equipment and training. 

What’s really cool is that CoCoRaHS is utilized in the United States by the National Weather Service and other professional meteorological agencies.  If you record an inch of rain at your house and report it to CoCoRaHS via their online platform, the National Weather Service and other meteorologists will use it to assist in forecasting.  If you report large hail, flooding, or other dangerous weather – your report will be documented and remain valuable for research, insurance claims, damage surveys, among other professional uses.  Weekly condition monitoring reports are also submitted by hundreds to thousands of users to assist in drought monitoring.

Daily Precipitation Report Map of the Continental United States Comprised of Data From CoCoRaHS Observers

​Here’s the thing – it’s so easy to become a part of the program, my toddler daughter even does it with me.  While I’m a professional meteorologist, it’s an absolute blast walking out each morning with my youngster who is still trying to learn her ABC’s to check the rain gauge.  Through the routine, she learns the very basics about weather and its effects, about the responsibility of making accurate reports, about getting work done on time, and – very important – that Dad’s job is pretty cool.  

How To Get Started With CoCoRaHS

So, how do you start?

It’s easy! Go to CoCoRaHS.org, then click “Join CoCoRaHS” on the left side of the webpage.  Volunteering is absolutely free, but you will need to purchase a high-quality rain gauge of certain specifications before you can make rainfall reports to ensure that reports are standardized across the network using the same equipment.  I’ve listed some websites below (price may or may not include shipping). There is also online training on the CoCoRaHS website, and a local coordinator will get in touch with you to assist in any questions you may have. That’s it!

​It’s so easy, everyone should do it. Become an important part of CoCoRaHS today!