National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Monitoring Tsunami Impacts Across the Pacific; Air Quality Concerns; Dangerous Heat; Critical Fire Weather for the West

Tsunami impacts continue for portions of the Pacific basin. Wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air in Midwest to Great Lakes. Heat dome spans Mississippi Valley to Mid-Atlantic with excessive heat warnings and advisories. Critical fire weather in Great Basin to Pacific Northwest (dry thunderstorms). Cold front spawns severe storms/heavy rain in Central U.S. today, shifts to East Coast Thursday. Read More >

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP MEASURE PRECIPITATION

Did it snow at your house? How much did my neighbor get? Which parts of my county got significant rain?  Snow and rain patterns in Colorado can vary dramatically over short distances, even on the plains. We'd like your help in documenting these patterns!

CoCoRaHS (The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network), CSU’s Colorado grown citizen rainfall network, is looking for volunteers to measure precipitation in their own backyards and report their observations via the Internet (www.cocorahs.org). It’s fun and easy and only takes five minutes a day! With over 10,000 volunteers reporting every day across the U.S. and 700 reports in Colorado, CoCoRaHS measurements are being used for important daily and long-term decision-making on drought and water supply for agricultural, recreation, utility providers, resource managers, teachers, scientists and homeowners. Organizations like the National Weather Service use CoCoRaHS data on a daily basis across the county.

All it takes is a standard rain gauge, a place to put it, the internet, and a few minutes a day.  If you're interested in the weather, this is a fun daily activity!

Sign up today at http://www.cocorahs.org !  You can also watch a video about measuring snow here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yNj1xCjqB4

CoCoRahs