There are times on our Prewitt mesa when we are under inches of snow while the area roads are bare and dry. We sometimes call our nearest neighbor to see if our current thunderstorm is hitting them, and often our weather is completely different.
Weather can be hyper-local with rapid changes. When planning a garden or landscaping, the bigger picture can be equally confusing. In our very rural state, finding reliable climate information can be challenging. Many online sites are based on weather stations in cities and at airports, which can leave large areas without accurate information. Even within the cities, weather in one neighborhood can be different from the next.
In 1997, a deadly flash flood swept unexpectedly through a sunny neighborhood in Fort Collins, Colorado from a storm a few miles upstream. That event inspired volunteers to create a community precipitation reporting network which now has tens of thousands of stations across the country. Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (Co-CoRaHS.org) volunteers report daily precipitation at their site, and the organization compiles the resulting data. There are live maps that show precipitation at each station, and precipitation summaries for any time period broken down by station, county, or state. This information is used by the National Weather Service, National Drought Monitor, NOAA, USDA, and many others. It is also available to you.
To access this service, go to the cocorahs.org homepage where you will see today’s interactive precipitation map. The left side bar offers organization and volunteer information such as state-by-state newsletters, Master Gardener climate information, and more. The menu bar across the top accesses precipitation data. There are many types of summaries you can request. This is a great tool for gardeners, landscapers, and anyone interested in weather and climate anywhere in the country.