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Group looking for Windsorites to measure daily precipitation

Group looking for Windsorites to measure daily precipitation

When it's raining, it's pouring would you get up in the morning to measure how much rain has fallen?

​A grassroots group that measures precipitation is asking people in the Windsor-Essex area to consider volunteering for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS).

The group is looking for a few good men and women to put a rain gauge in their yard, check it everyday between 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then report the amount of rain or snow that has fallen.

Provincial co-ordinator, Karla Jackson, tells CBC's Windsor Morning they have about a dozen volunteers in Chatham-Kent, but only a couple in Windsor-Essex.

"They're very loyal. They've been with us from the start, but there's no limit to the number of volunteers we can have," Jackson said.

Volunteers must buy a special $30 rain gauge and take a reading each morning at the same time. The data is available for anyone to see online.

The data is used by Environment Canada, conservation authorities and others to get more precise data about how much rain or snow has fallen.

Geoff Coulson, meteorologist for Environment Canada, said CoCoRaHS is "a very legitimate meteorological source of information." And he "most definitely" uses it in his warning preparedness work, especially at this time of year when there are localized storms.

There's currently only one CoCoRaHS volunteer in Windsor, and another in LaSalle, so most of Essex County does not have any people measuring precipitation. For more information on becoming a local weather watcher visit CoCoRaHS's website: http://www.cocorahs.org/