1,000 Observers Wanted to Monitor Colorado Climate for Colorado State University; Rain Gauge Week April 16-22

April is a very critical month for Colorado precipitation and water supplies. To help track water, Colorado State University’s award-winning volunteer precipitation monitoring network seeks to add 1,000 new volunteer weather observers to its Colorado network this spring.

CoCoRaHS stands for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. The goal is to have at least one person per square mile over heavily populated areas in Colorado taking observations to better track Colorado’s remarkable variability in local precipitation. In rural areas, the goal is to have at least one person per every 36 square miles.

"In an area the size of Denver, that means we will need several hundred volunteers from the seven-county metro area," said Nolan Doesken, state climatologist based at Colorado State University and founder of CoCoRaHS.

Volunteers are asked to purchase an official rain gauge and report observations to the CoCoRaHS website. The 4-inch diameter rain gauges cost about $30.

April 16-22 is “Rain Gauge Week” in Colorado. Schools across Colorado will help CoCoRaHS with observations and learn the importance of spring precipitation. Gauges are free for Colorado schools thanks to generous sponsor support.

Training is available online and in person. The following classes are scheduled for the Denver area during the month of April:

• April 13 (12:30-230 p.m.), Castle Rock Library, 100 S. Wilcox, Castle Rock
• April 16 (6:30-830 p.m.), Aurora Central Library, 14949 E. Alameda Parkway, Aurora
• April 25 (6:30-8:30 p.m.), SE Aurora Library (Tallyn’s Reach), 23911 E. Arapahoe Road, Aurora
• April 27 (10 a.m. to noon), Adams County Regional Park (Fairgrounds), 9755 Henderson Road, Brighton

For more information, or to sign up to volunteer, go to www.cocorahs.org
or contact Chris Spears at chris.spears@colostate.edu.
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