Today w
e salute Fairfield County’s weather watchers! Whether you measure daily precipitation using a rain gauge in your backyard, monitor an entire weather station with all the bells & whistles, or chase storms “Twister”-style (which we don’t recommend), we thank you for the important service you provide.
In particular, we’d like to highlight the work of those citizen scientists participating in the Fairfield County Precipitation Monitoring Program. These county residents take daily precipitation measurements in their own backyards using a standardized rain gauge and report their observations each morning to a database known as the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network – or CoCoRaHS for short. CoCoRaHS is a non-profit, community-based network of volunteers from all over the country who measure and report rain, hail, and snow in their backyards. With over 20,000 active contributors across North America, Precipitation Monitors make a big impact.
If you’ve ever experienced the phenomenon of seeing rain falling in the distance but never feeling a drop in your location, you know how variable precipitation can be. The Fairfield County Precipitation Monitoring Program was borne out of this variability. In fact, one extreme instance occurred last month. From August 16th to 18th, parts of the county were blessed with over 2” of rain while other areas received only 0.1”. Furthermore, parts of eastern Franklin County were inundated with over 5” of rainfall! These extreme fluctuations in precipitations events can have a large impact on the watersheds they enter.
According to the data entered into the CoCoRaHS database by our Precipitation Monitors, Fairfield County has been fortunate in terms of precipitation this summer. Most farmers would agree, as this rainfall abundance is evidenced by our county’s flourishing crops. While May presented us with a spring-like average of 4.3” of rain for the month, June was much drier with an average of only 2.1”. This was followed by our wettest month. In July we averaged 5.5” of rain, with some portions of the county receiving over 7 inches! So far for the month of August, rainfall amounts have been quite variable in the county. While the NE corner of the county has received nearly 4.5”, southern parts of that same township have only received 1.7” and could use a shower.
Are you interested in participating in the Precipitation Monitoring program? Virtually anyone can take part – young, old, and in-between. The only requirements are an enthusiasm for watching & reporting weather and a desire to learn more about how weather can affect and impact our lives. Moreover, the measurements collected by Precipitation Monitors have many real-world applications that help the public better understand weather and climate, and the information is used by many organizations, including The National Weather Service, NOAA, and locally by emergency managers, farmers, and homeowners.
Contact Carrie Brown, Fairfield County OSU Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator at 740-653-5419 or email her at brown.2766@osu.edu for more information.
Source: Carrie Brown, Fairfield County ANR Educator