National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Flooding in the Mississippi Valley; Fire Weather in California; Tropical Cyclone Rafael

A cold front will stall near the Mississippi River Valley today with excessive rainfall bringing areas of flooding over parts of the region. Gusty winds and dry conditions will drive critical to extremely critical fire weather over portions of central and southern California through Thursday. Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for parts of the Florida Keys ahead of Tropical Cyclone Rafael. Read More >

National Weather Service
Cooperative Observer (COOP) Program

Instrument
            shelter with background valley fog COOP
            Observers with Awards
COOP
            Observer with Award COOP
            Observer with Award

The National Weather Service (NWS) Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) is truly the Nation's weather and climate observing network of, by and for the people. More than 11,000 volunteers take observations on farms, in urban and suburban areas, National Parks, seashores, and mountaintops. The data are truly representative of where people live, work and play.

The COOP was formally created in 1890 under the Organic Act. Its mission is two-fold:

  1. To provide observational meteorological data, usually consisting of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, snowfall, and 24-hour precipitation totals, required to define the climate of the United States and to help measure long-term climate changes
  2. To provide observational meteorological data in near real-time to support forecast, warning and other public service programs of the NWS.

The National Weather Service office in Reno, NV operates a network of over 60 cooperative weather stations. These stations are run by trained observers, all of whom volunteer their services. These observations provide critical information and are considered “The Backbone to our Country’s Climate Data.”

 

Data:

Additional information:

NWS Reno COOP Program Contact Info: