Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network
CoCoRaHS HCMN Project 803
This article was originally published in the February 2019 Hays Humm and has been adapted.
John Kluth
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network, commonly referred to as CoCoRaHS, is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail, and snow).
CoCoRaHS started in 1998 and has participation in all 50 states, Canada, and the Bahamas. https://www.cocorahs.org/ The collection of precipitation data by citizen scientists across this expansive geography provides many sources and locations of data for scientific analysis and trending.
To be a CoCoRaHS volunteer, a specially designed, calibrated 4-inch diameter rain gauge is required. It has a capacity of up to 11 inches of rainfall. The CoCoRaHS rain gauge, shown in the photos here, may be purchased from the website. To begin logging observations, volunteers need to register on the CoCoRaHS website for a User ID and password. You may also download an app to your smartphone, which is a fast, easy way to log observations (see photos below).
When you receive your rain gauge, it’s important to follow the instructions on where to locate and install it, so you minimize any chances of rainfall not reaching the gauge.
Hays County Master Naturalist Rainfall Project 803
Hays County Master Naturalist (HCMN) Rainfall project #803 utilizes the CoCoRaHS system and gives HCMNs volunteer hour credit for participating and logging data. Through this program, master naturalists can look at their recorded historical data on the CoCoRaHS website. For example, TX-152-HYS is John Kluth’s recorded data.
For Hays County Master Naturalists, the maximum amount of volunteer time allowed per month for this project is 2.5 hours (based on an estimated 5 minutes per day for observing and logging daily data). Log only the actual amount of time you spend, capped at 2.5 hours, for each month of your observations. If you miss some days due to being out of town or for other reasons, utilize a Multi-Day Report for logging data across multiple days, but only log 5 minutes of time to do so.
The photos below show the steps for logging in on the CoCoRaHS phone app.
Hays County Master Naturalist John Kluth resides full-time in Northwest Harris County and part-time in far north Hays County. He has both of his properties registered with CoCoRaHS and observes and records rainfall from both sites.