Integration of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) observations into the West Gulf River Forecast Center operations
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2018). Cover Photo: Sunrise over Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program land. ©2017 John Reuthinger.
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Keywords

rainfall
observers
floods

How to Cite

Story, Gregory. 2018. “Integration of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) Observations into the West Gulf River Forecast Center Operations”. Texas Water Journal 9 (1). College Station, Texas:96-107. https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7071.

Abstract

This article will introduce the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network and illustrate its integration into the daily operations at the National Weather Service West Gulf River Forecast Center (WGRFC). An example will be shown on how the data were used during a specific flood event and will illustrate our extensive use of this data during Hurricane Harvey. The benefits of this network will be discussed. The network provides the WGRFC a source of rain gauge data where other sources of rainfall data are sparse and allows for verification of radar-based precipitation estimates. Members of CoCoRaHS provide observations that are vital in assisting the WGRFC with flood forecasting operations. Information on joining this important network is presented in this article.

Citation: Story GJ. 2018. Integration of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) observations into the West Gulf River Forecast Center operations. Texas Water Journal. 9(1):96-107. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7071.

https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7071
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References

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National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092017_Harvey.pdf

CoCoRaHS website. 2018. Fort Collins (Colorado): Colorado State University; [accessed August 21, 2018]. https://www.cocorahs.org/

CoCoRaHS Mission Statement. 2018. Fort Collins (Colorado): Colorado State University; [accessed August 21, 2018]. https://www.cocorahs.org/Content.aspx?page=mission

(NWS) National Weather Service. 2018. Service Assessment: August/September 2017 Hurricane Harvey. Silver Spring (Maryland) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/media/publications/assessments/harvey6-18.pdf

Reges H, Doesken N, Turner J, Newman N, Bergantino A, Schwalbe Z. 2016. CoCoRaHS: The evolution and accomplishments of a volunteer rain gauge network. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 97:1831-1846.

Story G. 2016. An introduction to the NWS West Gulf River Forecast Center. Texas Water Journal. 7(1):56-63. https://journals.tdl.org/twj/index.php/twj/article/view/7036

Story G. 2012. Chapter 12: Estimating precipitation from WSR-88D observations and rain gauge data. In: Verdin JP, Wardlow BD, Anderson MC, editors. Remote sensing of drought: innovative monitoring approaches. Boca Raton (Florida): CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. p. 281-306.

Watson KM, Harwell GR, Wallace DS, Welborn TL, Stengel VG, McDowell JS. 2018. Characterization of peak streamflows and flood inundation of selected areas in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana from the August and September 2017 flood resulting from Hurricane Harvey. Reston (Virginia): U.S. Geological Survey. 44 p. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018–5070. https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20185070.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2018 Gregory J. Story