I am a weather geek

I confess, I am a weather geek. :redface: Since I was a little girl I have loved watching weather reports. I wanted to be a weather girl when I was like 6 years old because it was the only part of the news I liked to watch. Plus they were always pretty and had nice clothes. :rolleyes:

When my podunk town in Jersey finally got cable, dad and I could spend hours watching the weather channel, much to moms annoyance and puzzlement. Even now, if a storm is brewing the place to find us is glued to the weather channel. I get excited when I hear Al Roker mention Alberta Clippers and Bermuda highs. Don't get me started on how the sight of Jim Cantore in a slicker or parka sends my heart pitter-pat.

I admit, I even have weather alerts texted to my cell phone.

Tropical depression Fay is begining to bore me cause she's just kinda moseying about Georgia instead of heading out to sea like a respectable storm. Hurricane Gustav is showing promise though.

This part of Georgia has had severe drought conditions for a few years now, so keeping accurate rain data is important.


Not sure if there are any other weather geeks out there but if you are interested in posting the precipitation in your area for all to see you should look into joining CoCoRaHS.
CoCoRaHS! "Volunteers working together to measure precipitation across the nation."

CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow). By using low-cost measurement tools, stressing training and education, and utilizing an interactive Web-site, our aim is to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. We currently operate in many states across the country. If we are not in your state please drop us a line and let us know that you have an interest in participating. This helps us know where a desire exists for the network and where to focus our future expansion efforts.
It's free to join; but they do like you to use one of their approved rain gauges. I opted to purchase mine at Wal-Mart. :biggrin1: I mean for criminys sakes it's a clear plastic cylinder with a ruler printed on the back. It doesn't need to be expensive to do the job accurately.



My rain gauge - $4.00 @ Wal-Mart


Comments

clicking into Weatherunderground is also an option. Got the charts, the projection and the five to ten days forcast.

So--did Georgia get any rain?
 
I hate to be a party pooper, njqt, but there is a difference in rain gauges.

Rain gauges of different makes report different amounts of rain, even when those gauges are positioned right next to each other during a rain storm.

The size and shape of the mouth is important because small scale wind turbulence in the vicinity of the gauge can affect how many drops actually do land in the gauge. The NWS requires a rain gauge with an 8 inch diameter mouth for better sampling. I know this sounds like weather geek trivia but, over time, the results add up to a significant difference in reported rain.

Standarization of gauges and proper positioning of gauges are more important than is commonly understood.
 

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