I took a look at my Feb totals on CoCoRaHS this morning and it wasn't as much snow as I thought.  This year I received 3.4" of precip & 21" snow.  Last year was 2.0" precip and 19" snow.  We did had a couple of days with rain but no snow that gave me 1.01" precip but I thought the snow totals would be higher.

  Now, from Dec 1 to today I've received 8.61" precip and 48" snow.  That's pretty impressive.  Those are approaching Denver Colorado totals.  Last year it was 6.85" precip and 32.8" snow. 

  I am ready for Spring.  I haven't had snow cover every day since December, but there have been only 17 days without some snow on the ground.  That 81% of the days with snow cover.  That's enough

  As you know, I'm a county coordinator for CoCoRaHS.  Well, we had planned to have a training session for new volunteers this evening.  This training covers recording precipitation in the form of rain, hail and snow.

  Guess what?  We had to postpone due to weather.  We have a decent size snow storm coming in and the forecaster who was conducting the training had to be in the NWS weather center to cover the storm.  We also didn't want people driving in from all corners of the county and have to navigate sloppy roads. 

  Now that is what I call ironic.

  We actually got a decent amount of snow yesterday.  By that I mean, 8.5 inches which I think is the largest snowfall since we moved to Illinois in 2004.  I keep telling everyone around here that 2 inches of snow does not constitute a "Major" snowfall but I think it falls on deaf ears.

  I thought I would upload some photos of how I measure snow for CoCoRaHS.  As you know I am a volunteer weather observer and also the Kane County Coordinator for CoCoRaHS so I'm always trying to promote the organization.  Matter of fact we have an upcoming training session and I think I'll be in another article in either tomorrow's or next Sunday's Daily Herald.
  Here is the standard 4" rain gauge that we use to collect precipitation. During the winter months we melt the snow that falls in the gauge to get our reading.

  I wasn't the smartest yesterday.  I had it in my mind that I wanted to do a run when I got home from work.  It was warm enough out that I wanted to do it outside (I avoid the treadmill as much as possible).  When I got home it was raining just a bit but I like running in a light rain.  There was also lightning but I checked the weather maps and it showed the storm tracking to the south and east of us.

  So out I went.  The first problem was that it was wet.  My route takes me over a few bridges and one wooden ramp.  Well, I slipped on the ramp, caught myself on the railing but still twisted my body.  I took a few steps and other than my side being wet from the ground I seemed ok.
 
  I was watching the storm and it still seemed a ways away.  I got about a 1.5 miles away from the house on an out and back and there was a lightning hit that was not too far away and seemed directly south.  I turned around.  As I was about a half mile from the house, there was a big ball lightning in the sky that seemed directly over our house.  Oh joy.  I started thinking of who's house I could seek refuge in and maybe get a ride home.  Instead, silly me, I continued on.

  Talk about heavy praying.  :-)  The last 1/4 mile is all open leading up to our house.  No cover along the sidewalks.  There was lightning all around but somehow (Thank you Lord) I made it home without a problem.  I ran in the house then went directly to the treadmill for my cool-down.  Didn't want to stay outside any longer than necessary.

  I did end up limping the rest of the night because I tweaked my knee in the fall.  Today it seems better.

  That was STUPID!  In my mind I was set that I was going to run and run outside no matter what.  I had my mind made up as early as lunch time and wouldn't budge from it.  I ran without a phone or any ID (No I haven't gotten the RoadID yet) and it was just plain stupid.

  What's the moral of all of this?  I need to be more flexible and adjust to circumstances.  I could have just as easily run on the treadmill even though it's not my preference and it would have been much safer.  Hopefully lesson learned.

  BTW - The storm did track to the south of us for the most part.  We received .47 inches of rain overnight.  If you'd like to see some interesting totals, go to CoCoRaHS.com and look up precipitation for Indiana.  Most of the NW corner of the state received over 3 inches of rain.  We also heard of three tornadoes touching down in Kenosha WI where a cousin of ours lives.  My wife called today and they are ok but one tornado was only 3/4 mile away.  That's a little close.

  As you may know, I'm an observer for, what's becoming, a nation-wide set of volunteers recording precipitation.  This group CoCoRaHS started in Colorado after the 1997 Ft. Collins flood and has grown into a number of states including Illinois in December 2006.  I was an observer when I lived in Colorado and signed up as soon as they started in Illinois.  I am now the coordinator for my county, Kane County.

  Here are my numbers from this previous year.  Bear in mind that a hydrological year is from Oct 1 - Sep 30 so we are actually starting the 2nd quarter for 2008.  But, since I didn't start recording until Dec, 06, I thought I would look at the numbers for the past calendar year.

  Since I am new to Illinois, I have no idea if these are "Normal" or above or below.  I think only time will tell.  It's interesting all the same:

  I volunteer for CoCoRaHS as the Kane County coordinator.  This is a group of, what's becoming nationwide, observers the record precipitation on a daily basis. 

I was an observer when we lived in Colorado and when the started in Illinois last year, I was the first to sign up in my county.  Later on they asked me to be a County Coordinator which I accepted this fall.
  My duties are mainly in promotion, checking data accuracy and answering questions of the observers in my county.
  On the promotion side, I've been sending news releases to local newspapers in the hopes some will write an article.  Well I hit pay dirt when Linda Girardi from the Aurora Beacon News picked it up.  I hooked her up with some of our observers and she also interviewed me.  She wrote a very good article.  I did this last spring as well and the article was off on a few facts but still got the point across.
  This article worked.  So far we've had 12 observers sign up in my county as well as 5 or 6 in surrounding counties!  That's a 30% increase which is sorely needed.
  I'm pasting the complete article here because the Beacon only keeps them online for 1 month:

Calling all valley weather watchers:

National project needs local help

Tired of talking about the weather?

Want to actually do something about it?

The local affiliate of a national project is looking for people who want to get involved as weather watchers.

"Some people think we're really crazy," said Nolan Doesken, a Colorado State University climatologist. "Some people tire of going outdoors to measure snow and ice, and others love it."

About 625 volunteer weather watchers in Illinois are actively participating in a national weather data collection center known as the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network.

CoCoRaHS, headquartered at Colorado State, is a non-profit, community-based network of volunteers who measure and map the varying forms of precipitation: rain, hail and snow.

CoCoRaHS, which has more than 6,500 observers in 26 states, began operating in Illinois in December 2006.

On any given day, more than 100 people are filing weather data into the network from Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties.

"I've always been a weather geek," said Jon Snurka of Geneva, CoCoRaHS regional coordinator for Kane County.

The IT manager of an insurance company, Snurka began volunteering for the CoCoRaHS project three years ago in Colorado.

"My family is always asking how much snow or rain we've received," Snurka said.

Snurka said volunteering as a weather watcher can be worked into a person's family schedule. Occasionally, his children will record the weather data if he is away.

"They realize life happens," Snurka said of CoCoRaHS.

To become a volunteer weather monitor, simply visit www.cocorahs.org.

Local weather observers said it takes about 10 minutes or less to go outdoors to the monitoring station and then enter the data into the system.

Nels Jacobson, 67, signed up as a volunteer weather watcher for Kendall County last spring.

"I don't mind trekking through the snow or rain. I'll stay indoors during a heavy thunderstorm -- they give you the option if you don't want to go out, and they certainly do not want you going out in severe weather," Jacobson said.

Jacobson said the network's Web site is comprehensive, and he enjoys getting the regular e-mails of information sent from CoCoRaHS on the importance of taking readings and the value of what they are providing to other weather agencies.

"Most days it doesn't take too long. We can go weeks during the summer without any rainfall, but it does take a little longer during the winter to measure the snow and the freezing rain," Jacobson said.

Laura Topping, of North Aurora, said she's always had an appreciation for weather. "I like the idea of it always changing," she said.

Topping posted her CoCoRaHS weather station in her front yard, and it immediately got a reaction from inquisitive neighbors.

Each weather observer is given a station name that includes the city name and the longitude and latitude of their property. Topping said she's Kane 33 and her user name is "Cinderbrella."

"It's given me a new perspective whenever it is raining or snowing, and we're contributing something to the community. It's simple, yet something very useful," she said of the data collection.

Dennis Janick, of Aurora, began weather watching in October.

"I've always been intrigued with weather, and if I wasn't in my present occupation, I probably would be a weatherman," Janick said.

Janick, 58, is co-owner of a dairy-distribution company in West Chicago, and over the years he has put his interests in tracking weather to good use for his company's 10 drivers.

"It's helpful to know if a snowstorm is barreling our way. I jumped at the opportunity to sign up, attended the training session and set up the gear in my back yard."

Doesken said the National Weather Service and weather forecasters benefit greatly from the local weather reporters.

"This really fills the gap so we can see much more of the local detail. For people to measure hail from their yards offers us a wealth of information for our study," he said.

Many high-level scientists working in technology fields request data from CoCoRaHS.

"They monitor clouds, storms, precipitation and snow from satellite," Doesken said, "but they also need high-quality measurements at the ground level for remote sensing to be applicable. While we are using high technology, we still need our low technology to calibrate the data, and that is not going to change anytime soon."

• Online: Community weather site
Information on hail hard to find

• Perhaps the most unusual aspect of CoCoRaHS is hail mapping and analysis. One of the prime motivations for collecting hail data is to gather better information on the frequency, timing and characteristics of hailstorms and the hailstones that accompany them. Information about hail is limited because it tends to occur over small areas for short periods of time.

To sign up, visit the CoCoRaHS Web site, www.cocorahs.org

  Since I am now the Kane County Volunteer Coordinator for CoCoRaHS, I thought I'd start a weather blog for just weather discussions.  You'll find posts regarding CoCoRaHS as well as weather info in Kane County and some video links.

  It's at KaneCoWeather.blogspot.com.

  Check it out!

 

No sooner had I told Tim that I would be willing to be the Kane County Coordinator for CoCoRaHS, he sent this email out to the county.  Nothing like being thrown in right away.  :-)

Dear Kane County CoCoRaHS observers,

Please join me in welcoming our new Kane County CoCoRaHS coordinator...Jon Snurka! Jon was one of the very first observers to sign up for CoCoRaHS when we hit the market back in December of 2006 and was previously an observer in Colorado where the program was developed.

Has attended multiple training sessions and is very passionate about weather. His station number is IL-KN-1 Geneva 1.6 ENE. His main tasks in being a county coordinator for Kane County will be to maintain contact with the observers across the county, keep an eye on the reports coming out, follow up with new observers that come on board and help to expand the program locally by getting the word out through the community. Some county coordinators have also organized "get-togethers"

in the past where observers could all meet and discuss weather and what not. Jon's email address is jon@robynhode.com if you would like to contact him, otherwise he'll be contacting you soon to introduce himself. Thanks again to Jon and to all of you for your active participation in CoCoRaHS!

Tim Halbach

Illinois CoCoRaHS

NWS Chicago

Talk about some rain. We've had two storms this afternoon and so far they've delivered over 1.6 inches of rain. Add that to the 5.57 inches of rain so far this month and animals will start lining up 2 by 2. And it's not over. We should get more rain maybe tonight and tomorrow before things slow down a bit.

CoCoRaHS has some interesting reports showing Intense Precipitation and total acumulation.

Check it out if you get a chance. Better yet, sign up so you can contribute to the data!