CISA and CoCoRaHS Condition Monitoring Research Project Update: Interviews with SC and NC Decision Makers

In our December newsletter we updated observers on what we've been up to lately.  Throughout the fall, we worked on using the precipitation data and condition monitoring reports you've submitted to CoCoRaHS to create charts, maps and other materials showing how your reports can contribute to our understanding of drought.  In December, we showed them to drought response decision makers and asked how they thought your reports could help them understand and make decisions about drought.  

Our first interviewee was South Carolina State Climatologist and South Carolina Drought Response Committee coordinator, Hope Mizzell. She talked about the importance of CoCoRaHS as a source for precipitation data.  However, she reminds observers to report 0's on days when there is no precipitation as this information is as valuable as data provided when there is rainfall.  Scientists and decision makers like Mizzell depend on observers who can provide local precipitation measurements (including 0's) regularly to understand long-term precipitation trends.

Mizzell also encourages observers to report surface water information (e.g., rivers, creeks, ponds, lakes etc.).

We also interviewed North Carolina State Climate Office Representatives, Heather Dinon Aldridge and Rebecca Cumbie.  Like Mizzell, Aldridge and Cumbie found CoCoRaHS to be a valuable resource for precipitation data and stressed the importance of consistent, long-term reporting. In addition, they used condition monitoring reports about water levels and agricultural conditions. When condition monitoring reports differed from indicators, Cumbie said she deferred to the on-the-ground observations provided by CoCoRaHS observers.

Aldridge and Cumbie appreciate the reports that provide a variety of observations. Those containing information about surface water levels, steamflows, soil moisture, wildlife activity and plant conditions are useful.  However, they rely on different types of information at different times.  For instance, if dryness or drought begins in late spring or early summer, observations about plants might be more helpful than those related to streamflow. This is because plant response to a lack of rainfall is apparent before changes to water levels, making plants an early indicator of drying or drought conditions.

While our interviews reveal some differences in the way South Carolina and North Carolina decision makers use the precipitation data and condition monitoring reports submitted by observers, they all agree on the importance of consistent reporting for yielding usable data that can help them make decisions about drought in the Carolinas.

We will be conducting more interviews with local, regional and national decision makers in the coming months.  By sharing some of their feedback, we hope observers will understand the value of the information they submit to CoCoRaHS and be inspired to submit precipitation measurements and condition monitoring reports regularly.  
 

Here is one of the maps we showed our interviewees.  It shows where concentrations of COOP or ASOS government-owned weather stations exist in the Carolinas (shown in blue) and where CoCoRaHS observers who submit condition monitoring reports are located.  Observers with a star at their location are consistent observers.  This means they've reported precipitation measurements for at least 362 of 365 days of the water year (October 1, 2013 - September 30, 2014). This map helps us see where condition monitoring reporters can provide information where government-owned stations are absent.