Monday, January 27, 2014

Capturing Ice and Snow

As many of you are likely aware, portions of both North and South Carolina are under Winter Storm Watches and Warnings today. These advisories are in preparation for a coastal storm that will develop and clash with cold arctic air starting Tuesday for a significant winter weather event. As we've noted before, recording frozen precipitation is a valuable part of the CoCoRaHS program and we encourage you to keep checking those gauges! CoCoRaHS provides easy to understand information about measuring both freezing rain and snow with your precipitation gauge.

Please note that if you are expecting any type of frozen precipitation in your area, you should remove the funnel and inner measuring tube from your gauge, as this not only allows a more accurate reading of frozen precipitation but it can prevent damage to your gauge. Because frozen precipitation can cause gauges to crack, please make sure to empty out any frozen precipitation once you've completed and submitted your measurements. In the event that you find yourself at home due to weather conditions, consider submitting a condition monitoring report to provide a more detailed account of the local weather in your area. Your observations can help the folks who have to be out in the ice and snow. Stay safe everyone! 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

For more information...

Do you ever wonder how your precipitation measurements 'measure up' to what's going on in other parts of the Carolinas or around the Southeast? Well, wonder no more!

The Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC) publishes a monthly 'State of the Climate' report which shares information about temperature, precipitation, severe weather and tornadoes, and drought and agriculture each and every month.

For the month of December we learn that temperatures were above normal across much of the region, with temperature from 3-4 degrees above normal across the Carolinas and as high as 5-6 degrees above normal in coastal areas of South Carolina. Overnight temperatures were also above normal throughout the Southeast last month, with over 300 daily high minimum temperature records tied or broken across the region.

With respect to precipitation, several locations recorded very wet months including Brevard, NC with a record setting 14.77" (records kept from 1931-2013). The above normal precipitation helped to alleviate the dry conditions that we've been experiencing for the last several months.

You can access the report usually by the 2nd week of the month on the SERCC website at www.sercc.com. Look for the flashing 'updated' sign to see when a new report has been released.

The SC State Climate Office is part of
the Department of Natural Resources
To find information local to South Carolina, look for the weekly weather reports from the South Carolina State Climate Office here. These weekly reports include a summary about the previous week's weather around the state, precipitation measurements from airport stations including departures from normal, 4-inch depth soil temperatures (a great tool for gardeners!), river levels, and ocean temperatures at Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach.

These organizations provide a great source of information. Additionally, your CoCoRaHS precipitation measurements and condition monitoring reports can help to inform these efforts. Folks at the SC State Climate Office read the 'comments' associated with daily precipitation reports on a regular basis. They rely on observers like you to tell them what's happening on the ground so that they can relay that information to others. So keep up the great work!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Drought Impacts Reporting Webinar ~ January 8th at 2:00 p.m.

Join us next Wednesday, January 8th at 2:00 p.m. for a webinar that will highlight CoCoRaHS volunteers and your condition monitoring efforts!

CISA will be participating in a webinar that is part of the Engaging Preparedness Communities work group of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). We will be sharing information about our partnership with NIDIS and the project we are coordinating with CoCoRaHS volunteers to conduct citizen science condition monitoring as we work to learn more about drought impacts in coastal ecosystems in the Carolinas.

A representative from the CoCoRaHS national headquarters office will also be speaking about how CoCoRaHS observers throughout the country have been submitting drought impact reports since 2010. And a representative from the National Drought Mitigation Center will talk about how these reports feed into a national database.

The webinar is part of a series exploring current research and applications on drought impacts in an effort to share information with the planners, decision makers, and resource managers. This is a great chance to learn how the information you are submitting through your regular condition monitoring reports can be used to help decision makers plan for and manage drought in your local communities.

If you would like to join us, register for the webinar at: http://go.unl.edu/97oe.