1. LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP October 12, 2011 Citizen Science Networks Presented by: Henry Reges and James Zdrojewski

2. CoCoRaHS “Because every drop counts”

3. What is CoCoRaHS? An overview

4. CoCoRaHS is a grassroots, high- density, precipitation network. It is made up of over 15,000 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who take daily precipitation measurements in their own backyards each morning

5. 4-inch diameter High capacity rain gauges Aluminum foil-wrapped Styrofoam hail pads Our volunteers are trained to assure accurate, high quality data Once trained our volunteers collect data using low-cost measurement tools In person trainings or via the Web

6. Just Precipitation! Rain Snow Hail

7. Our volunteers report their daily observations on our interactive Web site: www.cocorahs.org

9. Locally Nationally Volunteer’s observations are immediately available in map and table form for the public to view. Sonoma County, California

10. 9:49PM 9:58PM 10:08PM Loveland Ft. Collins 10:28PM Severe Thunderstorm over Fort Collins, Colorado Monday, July 20, 2009

11. Old Town CSU Hughes Stadium Harmony Interstate 25 Ted’s Place

13. A short history of CoCoRaHS

15. A B 1. The extreme local variations in rainfall possible from convective storms 2. The important role individuals can play in measuring, mapping and reporting precipitation. Distance between A and B = 5 miles A = 14.5 inches B = 2.0 inches

16. 1998 Today A few dozen volunteers in Northern Colorado 15,000+ volunteers in all 50 states

17. CoCoRaHS’s goal is to provide: High Quality Precipitation Data and Educational Resources and Outreach

18. Rainfall Data CoCoRaHS has quickly become the largest source of daily precipitation measurements in the United States

19. Rainfall can be extremely variable. With a dense network of rain gauges we hope to capture observations from that obscure storm. 0.00” 0.25” 0.00”

20. 7.12” May 6, 2008, Comal, Texas New Braunfels San Antonio

21. Without CoCoRaHS data With CoCoRaHS data “With CoCoRaHS it’s like increasing the number of pixels on your digital camera. You get a much clearer picture of where precipitation did and did not fall!”

22. In many cases radar doesn’t measure snow well, while satellite-based products have many limitations. With our local volunteers CoCoRaHS is providing additional “winter weather” measurement capabilities in many states across the country. In some Colorado cities, there is approximately one CoCoRaHS observer per sq. mile.

23. CoCoRaHS Volunteers measure both snowfall depth (new and accumulated) as well as the water content of the snow (SWE)

24. CoCoRaHS has become one of the largest repositories of hail data in the United States

25. “Helping to provide the public with a better understanding of weather and climate” Educational Outreach Opportunities

27. Is CoCoRaHS data used? You bet !

28.  National Weather Service  Other Meteorologists  Hydrologists  Emergency Managers  City Utilities -Water supply -Water conservation -Storm water  Insurance adjusters  USDA—Crop production  Engineers  Scientists studying storms  Mosquito control  Farm Service Agency  Ranchers and Farmers  Outdoor & Recreation  Teachers and Students Geoscience education tool Taking measurements Analyzing data Organizing results Conducting research Helping the community

29. Improved Drought Awareness “Making citizens aware of how the lack of precipitation can impact they daily lives” Citizens Reporting Drought Impacts

30. "We use the CoCoRaHS data in our post-storm summary to describe the overall impacts of a tropical cyclone event." Dan Brown - National Hurricane Center 2008 – Tropical Storm Fay

31. Precip data used to determine when to close shellfish beds

32. http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/htdocs_dyn/PUBLIC/nexsat/pages/conus/nexsat_conus.html Used in ground truthing satellite precipitation measurements GROUND TRUTH

33. Significant Weather Reports Hail Reports Possible Flash Flood or Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued Instant Snow Reports DENCCRAHS Additional “Real-Time” Reports

34. CoCoRaHS hopes to one day achieve a network of... one observer every square mile in urban areas one observer every 36 square miles in rural areas

35. Educational Resources for Teachers and Students

36. CoCoRaHS School Pilot Program

37. CoCoRaHS Schools Page

38. CoCoRaHS/4-H Lesson Plans

39. A Rain Gauge at every school in Colorado for 2012

40. What about weekends and summer reporting?

41. The risks of putting a rain gauge in a public place “Vandals hit Lopez School Rain Gauge” July 20, 2011 Fort Collins, Colorado No one will miss the gauge for a day or two! Wait until they get a hold of this rainfall amount!

42. What’s ahead for CoCoRaHS?

43. Additional 20-30,000 new volunteers over the next five years. Expand our volunteer base to new unreached audiences through mobile device technology, social networking and targeted recruiting efforts. Enhanced training through video and webinars to improve the connection between scientists and volunteers. CoCoRaHS 2012- 2013

44. CoCoRaHS is a lowest common denominator that continues connections to scientists at universities, federal agencies and citizen-science networks all across the country. Continue to seek collaborators/partners Please let us know of interested parties !

45. AMS Weatherfest New Orleans – January 21, 2012

46. www.cocorahs.org

47. Contact Noah Newman at: nnewman@atmos.colostate.edu

49. National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program Jim Zdrojewski Acting National Cooperative Program Manager National Science Teachers Association - October 2011

50. Cooperative Observing Program Who’s idea was it? Thomas Jefferson conceived the notion of an all volunteer weather reporting network He personally maintained unbroken weather observation records from 1776 until just days before his death in 1816 50

51. Cooperative Observing Program Other Notables Prior to Thomas Jefferson’s notion of a volunteer weather network, the Reverend John Campanius Holm was the person in the American Colonies to take systematic weather observations in 1644 Benjamin Franklin was also noted with his weather observations being used to make the first hurricane forecast 51

52. Cooperative Observing Program Where was this heading? After the war of 1812, Post surgeons became official observers In 1874, observers were transferred to the Army Signal Corp and then finally to the US Weather Bureau 52

53. Cooperative Observing Program It’s Official! Congress passes The Organic Act of 1890 from request of President Benjamin Harrison The Organic Act charged the Weather Bureau with ▫Providing weather and river forecasts and warnings ▫Dissemination of forecasts and warnings ▫Reporting temperature, precipitation and river conditions ▫Taking of data necessary to establish and record the climatic conditions of the United States 53

54. Cooperative Observing Program Fast Forward To The Present Who are today’s Cooperative Observers ▫They could be anyone…  Federal/State/Local Government Offices  People with special interests such as farming or construction or just plain interest in weather  Let’s not forget Mom & Pop…folks that are just interested in helping out 54

55. Cooperative Observing Program Types of stations There are almost 10,000 observing sites today ▫The “A” Network  Comprised of sites that the data are used for climate purposes ▫The “B” Network  Comprised of sites that the data are used for hydrological purposes ▫The “C” Network  Comprised of sites that the data are used for other meteorological purposes 55

56. Cooperative Observing Program “A” Network Coverage 56

57. Cooperative Observing Program “B” Network Coverage 57

58. Cooperative Observing Program “C” Network Coverage 58

59. Cooperative Observing Program All Network Stations 59

60. Let’s pause for questions from the audience

61. Cooperative Observing Program How are they managed? With so many sites it would be impossible to manage the network from one location Here at NWS Headquarters we maintain oversight for the entire program ▫This includes instruction on how to run the program, making sure supply is stocked, planning for the future and more Offer assistance to the Regional offices 61

62. Cooperative Observing Program Regional Responsibility 62

63. Cooperative Observing Program Regional Responsibility At the Regional offices ▫Help is given directly to the field office ▫Plans and instruction from the National office are administered to the field office ▫Track performance within their Region 63

64. Cooperative Observing Program Local Responsibility 64

65. Cooperative Observing Program Local Responsibility At the local field office ▫This is where hands get dirty ▫The technicians are responsible for finding or replacing observers in their respective area ▫They are also responsible for installing, and at times, removing observing equipment ▫They are also responsible for working with the observers by offering training, advice and just a pat on the back at times 65

66. Cooperative Observing Program Local Responsibility The field office is the true heart in the management of the Cooperative Program It’s the work of the technicians that make or break the program in their area 66

67. Let’s pause for questions from the audience

68. Cooperative Observing Program What do we measure? Precipitation ▫This includes rain, snow, hail and everything in between…generally if it was produced from a cloud, it gets measured 68

69. Cooperative Observing Program What do we measure? Temperature ▫How warm has it been?  It’s from stations like these that get that information from ▫There are different types of temperature equipment from the older, manual equipment to newer electronic sensors 69

70. Cooperative Observing Program What do we measure? Other measurements taken ▫We also measure things like evaporation, soil temperature and river levels ▫Hourly precipitation is also measured 70

71. Cooperative Observing Program What’s next? Future plans for the Cooperative Program include updating of equipment ▫We are currently working on;  Wireless temperature sensors  Data loggers to record hourly measurements  Soil thermometers 71

72. Cooperative Observing Program What Won’t Change? THE OBSERVER! ▫There are no plans at looking to remove the observer from the observation process ▫Even in times of automation you will only get an accurate, full element observation from the observer 72

73. Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar: This web seminar contains information about programs, products, and services offered by third parties, as well as links to third-party websites. The presence of a listing or such information does not constitute an endorsement by NSTA of a particular company or organization, or its programs, products, or services.

74. http://learningcenter.nsta.org

75. National Science Teachers Association Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP NSTA Web Seminars Paul Tingler, Director Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator