What is CoCoRaHS?
CoCoRaHS is an acronym for "Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, Snow Network."
CoCoRaHS is a volunteer network of ordinary people who love measuring precipitation. All the stations use a standardized rain guage, and measure the precipitation over a 24 hour period each day. The guage consists of a 4 inch outer cylinder, a 1 inch graduated cylinder, and a funnel. When rain falls, the funnel catches the water and channels it into the inner graduated cylinder. This cylinder is calibrated to the 1/100th of an inch, and holds exactly one inch. If more than one inch is received in a 24 hour period, the extra water overflows into the outer cylinder. The entire gauge will hold up to 11 inches of water.
During the winter months, the funnel and inner cylinder are removed, to allow for the capture of snowfall. The water content of the snow can be quickly measured by weight.
The data collected by CoCoRaHS is incredibly useful to government angencies, such as the NWS, as well as local news organizations. The ability to take acurate precipitation readings on the fly for SkyWarn net situations is also very useful, as this timely information can give the NWS time to issue alerts for potential flooding.
To visit the CoCoRaHS website, go to www.cocorahs.org.
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