data use


 

Who uses our CoCoRaHS data?


  • National Weather Service forecast offices and the Hydrologic Prediction Center track CoCoRaHS reports every day to verify their weather forecasts. They instantaneously receive our Intense Precipitation and Hail reports to aid in severe weather warning and verification.
  • National Weather Service River Forecast Centers are using CoCoRaHS data every day in predicting river levels and potential flooding all across the country.
  • National Weather Service and private meteorological businesses are using CoCoRaHS data to validate and adjust precipitation estimates from RADAR.
  • The National Operational Hydrological Remote Sensing Center accesses CoCoRaHS snow reports all winter to help in the assessment of snow cover and snow water content across the entire U.S. They particularly appreciate the observers who make the extra effort to report the total water content of snow on the ground each day in the winter. That is really important stuff.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking at CoCoRaHS data regularly to assess crop development, potential drought stress and possible crop damage and erosion from flooding or from drought.
  • The National Drought Mitigation Center (Lincoln, NE) looks at CoCoRaHS data each week in the assessment of local and regional drought – and in anticipating areas that may be on the verge of drought.
  • NASA has used our hail pads and data in assessing the risk of hail at Kennedy Space Center. NASA and NOAA scientists and educators have been using CoCoRaHS data to help validate satellite estimates of rainfall, soil moisture and evapotranspiration.
  • The media (newspapers, TV stations, internet news services) in many parts of the country are using CoCoRaHS data to provide more detail on local storm patterns. Many local utilities look at CoCoRaHS data to help gauge inputs to their water supply and also project water demand.
  • All sorts of scientists and researchers have contacted us about using CoCoRaHS data for things ranging from designing hail resistant airplanes to studying the spread of West Nile virus.
  • And so on, and so on -- there are MANY more occasional and every day uses – and more organizations are learning about CoCoRaHS all the time!


SO, when you submit a rainfall report from your simple CoCoRaHS rain gauge, please know that your data ARE important and ARE being used each and every day – rain or shine. Keep up the good work!