Boston Flora

Tag: National Weather Service

  • Community Collaborative: Rain, Hail & Snow Network

    If you are looking for a fun and purpose-filled project that you or the whole family can enjoy from the convenient location of your own backyard join the ever-growing nationwide ranks of CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network) volunteer precipitation monitors. 

    The saying “Rain doesn’t fall the same on all” really proves to be true. How often have you seen it rain in your neighborhood and a few blocks away not a drop has fallen. If you get the chance, please take a moment to tell a friend or neighbor about this exciting grassroots effort of citizens measuring precipitation right in their own backyards.  It’s easy to join, takes only five minutes a day and is a fun way to learn about this wonderful natural resource that falls from the sky.  Your observations continue to give scientists an ever clearer picture of where and how much precipitation falls throughout our communities.


    What better way to start your day than getting outside, checking your rain gauge and reporting your findings to a database that will be used in real time by several agencies including the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If your mornings tend to be hectic, you can have an impact by providing weekly rainfall and general condition reports. Warning! Once you start monitoring rainfall you may become an expert on drizzle, downpours and drought. Otherwise you might just find an enjoyable pastime that connects you to the weather happening in your own and your community’s backyard.  

    CoCoRaHS (pronounced KO-ko-rozz) is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local communities. By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, our aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. The only requirements to join are an enthusiasm for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives.

    Our Web page provides the ability for our observers to see their observations mapped out in “real time”, as well as providing a wealth of information for our data users.

    For more information, please click here: Information about CoCoRaHS

    If you would like to sign-up as a volunteer observer and become part of our expanding network, please click here: “Join the CoCoRaHS Network“.    

  • Thursday, April 3, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm – SKYWARN

    A SKYWARN® Spotter training session will be held on Thursday April 3, 2014 from 7-10PM at the Petersham Center School located at 31 Spring Street in Petersham, MA.

    SKYWARN® spotters are an important resource to the National Weather Service as they provide ground truth information in high impact weather events. These ground truth observations help aid in decisions in issuing watches, warnings and advisories. Not only will spotters learn how to observe the weather, they will also learn about valuable preparedness and safety tips. Trained spotters have been invaluable during weather events such as Post Tropical Storm Sandy, the February Blizzard of 2013, as well as during the Springfield Tornado. We are looking to attract as much interest as possible so we can expand our network and offer more extensive support to a greater area.  Image below from www.obnoxiousbostonfan.com.

    http://www.obnoxiousbostonfan.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/kaboom.jpg

    The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, established SKYWARN® with partner organizations. SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.

    Although SKYWARN® spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN® spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threatened lives and property.

    Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN® spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods.

    SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time–seconds and minutes that can help save lives.  For more information visit www.skywarn.org.