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As of last week, Ohio weather buffs can join a volunteer network of weather checkers that monitor precipitation to improve flooding predictions. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network is a national network of volunteers who post rain, hail and snow measurements on the network's Web site, said Jeff Rogers, state climatologist and Ohio coordinator. The network provides data to the public or any weather agency interested in precipitation amounts across the United States, he said. We hope that (the network) will give the National Weather Service and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources good information about how much rain is falling so they can accurately gauge streams and predict flood situations Rogers said. Anyone can become a volunteer after completing an online training tutorial and purchasing a four-inch rain gauge and yardstick for measuring snow depth, Rogers said. Although other participating states monitor hail precipitation, Rogers said Ohio's volunteers would not check for it because the state doesn't get much hail. Flooding in Ohio can be a problem particularly in the spring and summer when thunderstorms can dump two to three inches of rain at once, he said. One concern is that rainfall is variable and one part of a county can see several inches of rain but another may be absolutely dry Rogers said. Southeastern Ohio is particularly prone to variable rainfall and flash flooding because of the hills, said local network volunteer Ted Jacobson. We don't have very good precipitation intelligence in the rural areas which is where flash flooding usually occurs he said. Jacobson added that the several streams in Athens County that feed into the Hocking River could easily run over and flood rural areas when rain hits. Snow and ice could cause flooding too, but volunteers' measurements should help predict how much water will be on the ground once the ice melts. When we get ice or snow storms we really care about how much water is trapped inside he said. To measure the water equivalent precipitation volunteers take the rain gauge, now full of snow, inside so the snow and ice melts. Then that remaining amount is posted on the Web site, he said. Jacobson is one of three volunteers in the Athens area, but he said he hopes more will join. We need more volunteers in rural areas so we can get a better picture of where |
