RAIN, HAIL & SNOW NETWORK

In this collaborative, volunteers measure and help map precipitation

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THE FIELD OF participatory science invites people from all walks of life to assist in research that builds our understanding of nature. For more than 25 years, the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network, or CoCoRaHS, has organized volunteers to record precipitation in their locale. The organization maps the observations and makes the data available to the public as well as scientists, resource managers and others responsible for predicting and responding to climatic conditions and weather events.

CoCoRaHS began in 1998 in Fort Collins, Colorado, as the Colorado Collaborative Rain and Hail Study. Funded by a grant and organized with the assistance of several high school students, the project recruited local residents to measure and report precipitation each day. This data was then shared online so that the public and officials could track and compare local conditions.