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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2021 13 "Understanding the Weather" – A Series by Mel Zeldin, Retired Meteorologist In order to forecast the weather, and also to assess impacts of storms and other day-to-day weather conditions, a lot of data are needed. One might suppose that weather satellites, ocean buoys, and an array of official weather sites, especially at airports, are sufficient to provide an endless stream of measured weather data. But did you know that there are several national and global organizations that get weather measurements from volunteer citizens to collect valuable data at the local community level? In fact, here at Four Seasons Beaumont, we have several residents who contribute to the stream of weather data to specific organizations who, in turn, provide a host of federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private companies with much-valued micro-meteorological information. We'll take a look at two of them. The first is a national non-profit organization called CoCoRaHS (which is an acronym for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network). This organization was formed in 1998 in Colorado with the purpose of trying to get variations of precipitation from storms. Variations can be significant at times, with portions of a city receiving heavy rain, but other parts of the city having very little rain. Assessing these variations help to determine the expanse of storms, which if based only on one airport location, could misrepresent the amount of water received for the entire community. In turn, these measurements help assess more definitively drought and water storage capacities, as well as future storm predictions. Today, this organization has volunteers from all 50 states as well as a few other countries. Anyone with a weather interest can become a volunteer, and the organization provides training for the measurements of rainfall, snow depth, water content of snow, and hail size and characteristics, such as soft hail or hard hail. Data collected from this cadre of volunteers are subsequently provided to the National Weather Service and a host of other public agencies and companies, as well as for educational purposes. The website address is www.cocorahs.org. The second organization is the Weather Underground. This company has been providing weather forecasts and data to the public since 1993 and is the first weather company to do so via the Internet. It is more of a full-service weather data company with its own meteorologists, and the company provides a range of services including forecasts, local weather data, educational information, and many other weather products. A key program for the Weather Underground is a volunteer weather observing network. These people use automated methods to collect and report data virtually and continuously via the Internet. Over a quarter of a million volunteers across the globe have their own weather monitoring stations at their residences. These stations have an array of weather monitors, including temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and precipitation amounts. This constant feed of localized weather data helps with forecasts for our area and provides a rich source of data for climatologists and other interested groups. There are about a dozen participating resident weather observers within the Beaumont area, with two here in Four Seasons Beaumont. Current readings from these local weather stations are readily available on the Weather Underground website, www.wunderground. com. Four Seasons Beaumont Residents Measure the Weather Dianne Reed Anderson with her rain gauge - data reported to CoCoRaHS Dale Beckes with his weather station - data reported to the Weather Underground

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