Contents:
- What in the world is CoCo
RaHS
- Whose idea was this??
- Who can participate??
- What will we be doing??
- What do we hope to accomplish??
- Who is sponsoring this
program??
- What benefits are there
in volunteering??
- How can I sign up??
What in the world is CoCo RaHS??
 CoCo
RaHS is an acronym (a special type of abbreviation)
for our science education project here in northern Colorado.
It stands for the Community Collaborative
Rain and Hail Study.
Scientists often give their research projects funny names
like this.
CoCo
RaHS is a special project designed to include volunteer
students and adults in a study of the fascinating and very
complex patterns of rain, hail and snow from our weather.
Many volunteers are needed in order to accurately
measure and describe rainfall, and snowfall patterns and
hail swaths.
The project was expanded in October of 1998 to include
snowfall measurements.
We are currently expanding into Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico. Nebraska
is setting up a related project called NeRAIN.
Whose idea was this??
The
Colorado Climate Center at Colorado State University has
been thinking about doing a project like this for several
years. The 1997 Fort Collins flood was a major factor
in getting the project started in 1998.
Who can participate??
This
is a community project. Everyone can help, both
young and old. The only requirements are an enthusiasm
for watching and reporting weather conditions and a desire
to learn about the power and beauty of our natural world.
While we will welcome participation by any motivated individual
or family, our priority in providing weather instruments
and training will be focused on students grades 4-12.
What will we be doing??
Each
time a rain, hail or snow storm crosses the area, volunteers
will be taking measurements of rainfall from as many locations
as possible. Precipitation reports will be transmitted
by phone or computer to the Colorado Climate Center every
day. Student analysts and computer specialists will
process the data and prepare detailed maps showing rainfall
patterns. Scientists will later study these maps to
learn how storms developed and moved across the region.
Hail
does not occur as often as rain, but it can cause severe
damage to crops and property. Volunteers will be asked
to carefully observe and record several properties of hail
from each storm including number of stones per unit area,
size ranges of stones, stone hardness, color and other properties.
It will be very important to make note of exact times when
hail begins, ends or changes form. Observers will
be asked to transmit hail reports as soon as possible after
hail begins. Special maps will be prepared that show
where hail is occurring. Observers will also be asked
to keep notes detailing storm characteristics and related
weather conditions.
The
Colorado State University CHILL
Radar lab will use our hail data to verify the information
that they are receiving from their radar.
What do we hope to accomplish??
CoCo
RaHS has several goals. The size, intensity and
duration and preferred tracks of summer rain and hail storms
in Colorado will begin to be documented by surface measurements
in more detail than ever before. We will collect the
type of thorough rain and hail data that is needed to support
research efforts by the CSU CHILL Radar Lab. This,
in turn will help improve radar estimates of rainfall and
radar detection of hail and hail swaths. Training
and education opportunities for students and community members
will be provided to improve local awareness of severe weather
and other natural hazards to help make this area more resistant
to the impacts from natural disasters. Finally, we
plan to demonstrate that students and other volunteers in
Colorado can work together to make a significant and beneficial
contribution to scientific research. People can
make a difference.
Who is sponsoring this program??
Many organizations have contributed either financially,
or with supplies and equipment, to help keep CoCo RaHS going.
Our list of sponsors has grown to the point that they get
their own page. Click
here to see them.
Other organizations and individuals have also pitched
in with volunteer assistance to help get this science-education
project up and running. Many thanks to our sponsors. This
project would not be possible without your help.
What benefits are there in volunteering??
This
unique project will give participants a chance to make some
new friends while doing something important and learning
some new things.
Summer
activities will be organized for project participants including
training sessions, field trips and special speakers.
In
addition, our student leaders will be creating special competitions
such as:
- a summer rain and hail photography contest,
- writing and poetry contest,
- who knows what else,
- we might even write and perform a CoCo RaHS theme song.
At
the end of the summer, there will be a picnic to celebrate
our
accomplishments and recognize the volunteers.
How can I sign up??
|
