CoCoRaHS in the News

The local news in Columbia, SC recently broadcast a short video on CoCoRaHS and the March Madness competition.  NWS Hydrologist Leonard Vaughan was highlighted in this video and he stressed the importance of having more observers across the state. There have already been 30 new South Carolina observers added this month, so let’s keep up the recruiting effort!  You can watch the video here.

CoCoRaHS March Madness

We’re entering the final week of CoCoRaHS March Madness!  The State Climate Office of North Carolina released some videos to help with the recruiting spirit.  From basketball to office viewing parties, these people make using their rain gauges an everyday activity (to the dismay of some fellow workers)!  You can view all five videos here.

billy bar and 40 years of snow data (video)

Ever wonder what other people collecting daily precipitation data are like? In a short video by Morgan Heim of Day’s Edge Productions, billy barr (spelled in all lowercase) and his over 40 years of snow data are profiled. billy is the sole resident of Gothic, Colorado a ghost town that was abandoned in the 1920s. For the last 40 years, billy has lived in his cabin, collected hats, and recorded the snow levels for every day of the year. He also recorded the daily highs and lows in temperature, wildlife sightings, and the duration of snowpack into spring. Sound familiar? 

He has been condition monitoring for over 40 years! Scientists just discovered billy’s treasure trove of data and they plan to use it for climate change analysis. Moral of the story? Long records of precipitation data are really valuable. So, thank you for being an observer, lets make our own 40 years of data!

December Drought Update

Since we will not be releasing our newsletter until January, we thought it would be useful to update you on the current drought conditions in the Carolinas.

As of December 20th, the western part of North Carolina was still seeing impacts from drought.  Six counties in that part of the state were listed in extreme drought.  An additional nine counties were listed in severe drought and 24 were listed in moderate drought.

In the western part of South Carolina, there are three counties in severe drought.  Another 16 counties are in moderate drought conditions. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor states that year-to-date deficits in precipitation of 10-20 inches are commonly seen in the areas currently impacted by drought in the Southeast.

We hope you are all having a safe and happy holiday season!

We need your feedback!

The condition monitoring map was created by our Web Guru, David Eckhardt, and we want to know what you think. To find the feedback survey, go to the map at: www.cisa.sc.edu/map/, and click on the "Feedback" tab. There are only six questions, so it should take only a few minutes of your time. We need your feedback so that we can improve the map and track its use. If you have given feedback in the past, feel free to do it again because we have made a few changes such as the colored report circles based on the condition monitoring scale bar! Thank you in advance for your help!

Southeast Regional Climate Center Report

The Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC) released an article on the drought that has been impacting the Southeast region in 2016.  The report discusses the progression of the drought, the analysis of station precipitation totals, and impacts from the drought.  Go check it out here!

Sign Up Today for Phase 2 of the CISA and CoCoRaHS Condition Monitoring Pilot Project!

The national launch of the new CoCoRaHS condition monitoring report form occurred on October 10th. The reporting form has been updated to include a condition monitoring scale bar in order to create a more streamlined process for CoCoRaHS observers to submit their reports. A reporting guide for condition monitoring can be found on the CoCoRaHS website.

The second phase of CISA’s condition monitoring research project also focuses on a web map developed to display reports spatially, recruiting new volunteers, conducting volunteer surveys to gather feedback, and conducting interviews to understand how the new tools are used for drought monitoring and management decisions.

Are you interested in submitting condition monitoring reports as part of this research project? Are you willing to share feedback about your experiences through three online surveys over the course of one year? If so, please complete our Volunteer Information Form to be added to the project volunteer list.

Thank you to all of our new and continuing observers who attended our training webinars. If you were not able to attend, the presentation can be found here on the CISA webpage.