BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — For those of you who like to follow the weather, a nonprofit gives communities the chance to report weather in your area — the best part is anyone can do it.
- CoCoRaHS app helps collect data on rain, hail, snow
- Anyone can volunteer and help report weather data
- Nonprofit has also expanded to Canada and Bahamas
The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, also known as CoCoRaHS, is a nationwide nonprofit filled with community-based volunteers of all ages who work together at measuring rain, hail, and snow in their areas.
The data helps local meteorologists, educators, and organizations that deal with the environment, in fact, any organization that deals with the environment needs rainfall data — agriculture, aviation, public, and private entities.
According to volunteer Krizia Negrón, the CoCoRaHS app is easy to use, which can be downloaded through iOS or Google Play. All you need is a rain gauge. NWS helps promote the app, because they too use the data for more accuracy reporting the weather.
Negrón says with the push for STEM education, this would be a good activity for kids.
“If you're a teacher, you can get it for your school. Part of the science class, you spark interest in the science behind it,” she explained.
CoCoRaHS has about 45 volunteers in the Brevard County but could always use more people to sign up. That information helps our meteorologists get the most accurate information, especially when reporting scattered showers.
According to Negrón, the nonprofit has also expanded to Canada and the Bahamas.