Volunteer rain-and-snow reporters are needed to help predict weather, especially in Midwest and South

Want to help scientists better predict rainfall in your area? You can help by becoming a volunteer precipitation reporter for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network, called CoCoRaHS.

CoCoRaHS, which is based at Colorado State University, has 20,000 volunteer reporters so far, and the work is easy: you put up a professional-grade rain gauge, check it every morning, and file a simple report either on the website or the mobile app. The reports help climatologists get a better picture of how much rainfall areas get, especially since rainfall totals can be different even a few miles apart. "The rainfall reports – including reports of zero precipitation – are used every day by weather forecasters, the insurance industry, recreation entities, and many others," Gene Johnston reports for Successful Farming.

CoCoRaHS National Coordinator Henry Reges says the reporting can save lives. "One example is the flooding rains that hit Colorado in 2013. CoCoRaHS reports triggered warnings that ultimately saved lives," Johnston reports.

Reges says there's a big shortage of volunteer reporters in the rural Midwest and South, and he'd love to see more sign up. "It’s like the resolution on a camera. The more pixels (dots), the sharper the photo. We’re always looking for more observers."