Want to become a Charlotte weather man?

The Story

Do you find yourself complaining about the accuracy of the weather? This is your chance to take the weather into your own hands! The National Weather service needs Charlotte area residents to record the amount of rain, hail, and snowfall amounts in their yard. North Carolina being one of the most complex weather states in the country, crowdsourcing volunteer’s results makes for more accurate forecasting.

The Facts:

• In 2007, The National Weather Service started Charlotte’s chapter of the Weather Service’s Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow network to better understand local weather and climate patterns.
• By 2010, the NWS had volunteers in every state with nearly 10,000 observations being reported each day.
• Networks in North Carolina are coordinated by National Weather Service’s meteorologist David Glenn
• All US networks are sponsored by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (aka NOAA) and the National Science Foundation
• What you need to participate: An official 4” rain gauge through the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow website for about $30 (plus shipping) and volunteers must complete a simple online training course to learn how to submit your reports.
• Timely reports help National Weather Service forecasters issue and verify severe thunderstorm warnings.
• You can sign up and learn more here.

Quote

“By providing high quality, accurate measurements, the observers are able to supplement existing networks and provide useful results to scientists, resource managers, decision makers and other users. It only takes five minutes a day but the impact to the community is tenfold.” – David Glenn, NWS meteorologist and North Carolina Network Coordinator

C5’s Take

Basically, I am ordering my kit now. Does anyone remember the acid rain kits from middle school? This is like the adult version that actually helps the community. Since moving to North Carolina from Connecticut almost 10 years ago, the weather here baffled me, and continues to do so. The more people that get involved and report their findings, the more you can trust the weather report.

Photo: Stuart Ramson / AP

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 12:37 AM with the headline "Want to become a Charlotte weather man?."