Kevin Brinson and Dan Leathers with the CoCoRaHS cup.

Measuring precipitation

Delaware wins 2016 CoCoRaHS cup in 'March Madness' recruitment campaign

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9:40 a.m., April 14, 2016--Last month, the Delaware Office of the State Climatologist participated in the national Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network’s (CoCoRaHS) “March Madness” competition to recruit volunteers to measure and map precipitation.

Delaware gained 52 new volunteer observers overall, more than doubling the number of current volunteers in the state to win the CoCoRaHS cup in the “population weighted-per capita” category and surpassing states like North Dakota, Arizona and Minnesota. 

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The Delaware CoCoRaHS Program also placed fifth in the country for the number of new observers overall. Population weighted-per capita was calculated based on the number of new observers per one million of its total population. This equates to a total count of 57 new volunteers per capita for the category.

CoCoRaHS is a national non-profit network of volunteers who work together to measure and map precipitation such as rain, hail and snow throughout the year. This data is entered into a centralized repository where it is available to everyday people interested in better understanding how weather can affect and impact their lives.

Delaware’s CoCoRaHS Program added 40 new volunteers by mid-March, more than doubling the current 30 active observers statewide. This strong lead early on helped Kevin Brinson, Delaware’s coordinator for CoCoRaHS, and his team to pull ahead of the competition, which they maintained until the end of the month, securing 52 new volunteers overall to bring home the CoCoRaHS “cup.”

“We’re very proud of this honor. It’s a nice achievement for our small office, but the real winner is the meteorological data community,” said Kevin Brinson, who also directs of the Delaware Environmental Observing System, which is housed in University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.

Brinson explained that the new volunteers will help increase the number of observation points in Delaware by nearly 200 percent, which will improve the accuracy of future weather reports.

The volunteer data will enable the Delaware CoCoRaHS team to track surpluses and deficits in seasonal precipitation, which is important for the upcoming growing season. It’s also useful for the meteorological data community, including government agencies such as the National Weather Service and even local gardeners and agricultural groups that monitor flood forecasts, rainfall estimates, monthly climate summaries and drought conditions across the country.

“We are very appreciative of the willingness of so many people to volunteer for this program and we hope to have many of them working with us for years to come,” said Brinson.

Article by Laura Bilash

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