Think predicting the weather is all about high-tech climatological equipment? Think again.
These days some of the most vital tools in weather forecasting consist of simple, plastic rain gauges and a grass-roots team of volunteers willing to spend a few minutes each day analyzing data they've collected in their backyards.
On May 1, Georgia will be the 31st state to join that team of weather watchers as part of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), a 9,000-member organization that provides more actual precipitation data than the National Weather Service, according to the network's Web site.
The organization's goal is to have at least one weather watcher every 6 square miles, filling in gaps between National Weather Service reporting sites.
In northeast Georgia, the data are important in studying problems caused by runoff, said Jean Smith, a member of the Broad River Watershed Association who plans to take part in the network.
At least 19 members of the Broad River Watershed Association, a nonprofit, regional land trust dedicated to the protection and management of the Broad River, has committed to joining the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, Ms. Smith said.
"It's very important for us to know how much rain fell. ... If we're watching a particular area where we know there's some erosion problems, we need to know if it was an inch of rain that fell in an hour or an inch of rain that fell in a day. It makes a big difference as far as runoff," she said.
The network began in 1998 in Fort Collins, Colo., a year after a flood struck the city, killing nine people and injuring at least 30. The floodwaters also caused extensive damage to Colorado State University.
When researchers went back to examine the precipitation data, they discovered there was a 5-inch difference in the rainfall totals from one side of the city to the other, Ms. Smith said. It turned out that the flood was much more devastating than it initially was reported.
The discrepancy encouraged university climatologist Nolan Doeskin to form the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network to fill in those gaps.
Ten years later, the National Weather Service utilizes the volunteer group's data to provide more accurate weather information in precise areas, said Al Washington, the founder of the Oglethorpe County Rainfall Reporting Network, an organization similar to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.
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